The Bottom Line
While driving down the road, you’ve probably seen this message on the back of a tractor-trailer rig: How’s my driving? Call 800-111-2222. “Hats off” to the hard-working truckers out there who keep the U.S.A. supplied. You’ve got a tough job that not just anybody could do.
I wonder what kind of response Christians would receive if we wore a sign on our back: How’s my witness? Let’s look at the parable Jesus spoke of regarding two prayers in the New Testament found in the book of Luke 18:10-14 NKJV: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Beware of comparing yourself to other people. The Pharisee compared himself to the sinner, but the sinner compared himself to God. The Pharisee flunked his comparison test, and the sinner aced his. If you compare yourself with the mirror of God’s Word, you’ll get a true reading of your situation. But if you compare yourself with your neighbor, you may erroneously think you’re doing pretty good.
Who is your standard? How are you doing compared to Jesus? In Ephesians 4:12,13 NLT, the Bible tells us that Christ gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers and their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work. “This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.” So we find that Christ is our measuring stick.
The Bottom Line: Determine how you’re maturing in the Lord by comparing your life to Christ’s standard. And don’t compare your wife’s biscuits to your mother’s.
Pastor Jimmy Tucker
(620) 223-1483
Diamond Community Church
2591 Jayhawk Road
Fort Scott, KS
10:45 a.m. Worship