Devotion #2: Do You Measure Up?

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 

John Phillips shared this story in his commentary:  

“Two men went to the recruiting office in London to join a guards regiment. The standard height for a guardsman was a minimum of six feet. One man was taller than the other, but when they were measured officially, both were disqualified. The shorter of the two measured only five feet seven inches and was far too short; his companion measured five feet eleven and a half inches and, stretching to his utmost as he did, he could not make it any more. Nor did his pleas avail. It mattered nothing that his father was a guardsman, that he promised to be a good soldier, that he had already memorized the drills and knew army regulations by heart. He was short of the standard.” 

There is a standard for getting into Heaven as well. However, it is a lot more difficult than a height requirement. We must measure up to God’s standard which is perfection. In the Bible, God gives us His holy standard for living a righteous life. A good place to see God’s standard is in Exodus chapter 20, the Ten Commandments. 

In our story of the two guards regiment candidates, one of the candidates is taller than the other. The taller of the two would have thought he was a shoo-in for the job if he were to compare himself to the shorter candidate. When he compared himself to the height standard, however, he realized he did not measure up. We have the tendency to do the same thing when it comes to living a righteous life. We compare ourselves to others, thinking we are better people than they are. However, when we compare ourselves to God’s standard, we realize we fall short and are disqualified. 

The taller of the two candidates also made an argument that his father was a guardsman. He went on to say that he had memorized drills and army regulations. Unfortunately, none of those things mattered, because he did not measure up to the standard. It is the same for us. It does not matter what our family has done or what religious activities we are doing. None of those things matter because we do not measure up to God’s standard. 

God gives us His holy standard in the Bible to show us that we all fall short. We need help. God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross to pay the price for our sins. Jesus did not stay dead. He rose again! Only by trusting that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the price for your sin, believing that He rose again, and making Him Lord of your life are we considered righteous in the eyes of God. 

Because of this free gift God has given us, we all have the opportunity to measure up.  

“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20