My Grandma lived with us when I was growing up. One thing she loved to do was make us clothes. One year she made me an angel costume for Halloween. I remember that the wings were huge. I’m not sure I have ever felt so angelic as I did that night. Many of the neighbors commented on my costume and when I was invited in so they could get a better look, I had to turn sideways to get in the door. My Grandma was a great seamstress, but most of the time she used a pattern. If she wanted to get it right, she would use a pattern.
Our Christian life is important to us, right? And if you’re like me, you want to get it right. Not perfect (because perfection is unattainable on this earth), but right! We want to honor God with our life… in everything we do. We want to honor God in our relationships, our marriages, our parenting or grandparenting, our ministries, our speech, our conduct. We want to honor God all the time, not just sometimes. But to this, we need a pattern, a measuring stick. This verse tells us that God has given us a pattern. What is that pattern? It’s our faith. And in Romans 10:17, we learn that faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Therefore, the pattern we are to measure our lives by is the Word of God.
Sadly, we often don’t do this. We tend to measure ourselves by others. Now… don’t get me wrong. People can be examples for us. Paul said to imitate him as he imitates Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). I have many examples in my life and some of you are in that category. How thankful I am for the examples God has put in my life. However, people are human and they will fail us. They won’t always get it right. This is why God has given us a better pattern: the Word of God.
We need to make sure we use this pattern as our plumbline, asking ourselves: What does God have to say about people, the church, family, parenting, life, Christianity, finances, priorities, prayer, relationships, shepherding, leading, gifts, etc. What does He have to say about love, marriage, identity, value? God has a LOT to say. And His Word is our pattern. Let me encourage you today to look up in Scripture what you need to know… maybe you need help, guidance, counsel, direction. Maybe something in your life isn’t going exactly right and you wonder why. I’m guessing the Word of God has the answer. People are GREAT examples if we choose wisely. But nothing compares to what God has to say. Let this encourage you today.