Which Yard Stick?

After I had my blood cholesterol levels checked last week, I met with the doctor to discuss my results. Because I exercise regularly and eat well, I anticipated good results. As I expected, the doctor said my results were great and that he was very pleased. In fact, he said he wished that all of his patients had such positive results and that 90 percent of them didn’t.

Hearing him say that was encouraging, but when I looked at the paper for myself and compared my numbers with the recommendations, I was completely disappointed. Three of my cholesterol levels were “borderline desirable.” And the doctor’s praise of my numbers didn’t make me feel any better. I thought to myself, “Doc, you are using the wrong yard stick.” He was comparing my numbers to the average patient’s; I was comparing them to the medical professionals’ guidelines. And, in that frame of reference, there was room for improvement.

Ironically, I think many of us do that when it comes to daily life. We think, “Hey, I’m a better person than so-and-so,” and we conclude that we are “good enough”—even good enough to go to Heaven. But when we do that, we’re measuring ourselves with the wrong yard stick. Compared to Christ, we are all living less than desirable lives—that we all have sinned and fallen short of His glory (Romans 3:23). For example, while the world may think lust and hate are okay, the Bible says that they are the same as adultery and murder.

Today, let’s measure our lives by the right yard stick. Only when we view Christ as our standard will we truly see the reality of our sin and our desperate need for a Savior.