Insightful Musings on the Scriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Good morning, special ones.
It’s a pretty sunlit view out this window to the west…except I still have a lot of stuff in the way. I’ve done a jog, played some with the little kids, breakfasted, and built an impossible list. Once again, all I can do is make some priority judgments and get busy.
Blessings on your day. Love, Dad/Ray.
I have determined that I am 160.8 miles tall. You might say, “That’s ridiculous! How did you come up with a figure like that?” Well, it’s really quite simple. I’m looking at a map that shows the New Georgia Group of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands where we used to live and navigate. The map includes a scale for calculating distances. I used that standard of measurement to calculate my height. If you don’t agree with my method of measuring, I suppose I could get reactionary and defensive and say, “Don’t hassle me. You use your measurement, and I’ll use mine. So there!”
I agree—this is ridiculous. But it’s no more so than the tricks some people play in measuring their own lives, views, and values. They select a standard of measurement to their own liking, making themselves to look bigger and better than they really are when compared with the standard of TRUTH—God’s standard.
Jesus said, “Consider carefully what you hear (and choose to believe)…with the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.” I take that to mean that I had better be very careful how I measure myself—what standard I use to measure truth and error—how I judge right and wrong.
If I am 160.8 miles off in my calculations by standards of the truth, I may reap the real consequences of being 200 miles off—or maybe a million miles off—or how about 100 billion miles off. Remember, Jesus said that you will receive “even more” from your selected standard of measurement than the actual measurement, whether it be right or wrong.
Jesus is implicitly helping us to measure time and stuff against the standard of eternity. So how do you measure eternity? Be very careful about the “measure you use.” Think about it.