The Right Measurement

THE RIGHT MEASUREMENT

Zechariah 2:1-2, "I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof."

Aren’t you glad for standards? Some things in life are made simpler by the institution of standards.

Take for instance the following examples:

What would it be like if you went into the grocery store everyday to buy food and there were no standards for the handling of those foods or standards for the measuring of its size and weight? You never know how the produce is handled, or the chemicals that are used to make it appear big and healthy. How old are the steaks and pork chops and were the herds from whence they came carefully chosen or did only the sick and infirmed animals qualify for the slaughterhouse? How much does this roast weight, 5 pounds or 50 pounds? What’s a pound anyway?

Right now is much concern over the price of oil and gasoline around the world. Right here in our own area the price for gasoline seems to change every time an Arab sneezes in the Middle East. Now the price of this important commodity is a very real concern, but what if every time you pulled up to the pump you didn’t know whether what you were putting into the tank was what it was supposed to be or if it was going to destroy your car? And what if the pump measured your “gallons” as “quarts” instead and you didn’t know it? How many quarts would fill you tank, and what is a quart anyway?

The fact is that everything is measured by some sort of standard. The money that we use to purchase the necessities of life is measured according to a standard. What if a quarter would only be worth a nickel some of the time, or a dollar was worth a penny, or a penny worth a hundred dollars and you never knew whether you would have the right amount of money, and every merchant could establish his own value on any coin or bill that you lay down? Wouldn’t it be fun to try figure out just where to shop in the mall?

What about if you were to try to bake a cake or follow some recipe but a cup was not really a cup, but a teaspoon or a pinch wasn’t a pinch at all but a cup of any ingredient? I’m no cook but I do know that I wouldn’t want to follow someone’s recipe if their measurements were not the same as mine, and every measurement meant something different to them as it does to me.

I can remember following a very simple recipe once to bake a cornbread. It was beautiful to behold and quite tasty. But there was one problem. I had failed to follow the standards set down in the recipe by changing only one ingredient. I put in baking soda instead of baking powder. Believe me, it didn’t take long to see that the standard had been violated!

In Zechariah’s vision he saw a man with a measuring line in his hand and that measuring line was the standard by which Jerusalem would be measured. It was to be used as the standard to see the exact size of the city on all sides. But I don’t want to talk about the measuring of the city in particular. I want us to take note that there is a standard by which all things are measured and that there is only one keeper of that standard.

The problem that so many have in life is that they forget that God has established standards and laws that govern every facet of life. Whether we serve the Lord or not, those standards are the same for us all. Whether we obey or try to circumvent God’s laws and standards, or not, the standards and laws do not change.

The Law of Gravity can be ignored, but it won’t change. Try to fly without wings and you will soon discover its immutable truth.

The Law of Sowing and Reaping can be ignored, but we will still reap what we sow because the law does not change.

The Laws of Physics can be ignored but, as many have discovered too late, those laws will not fail. One of those laws says that two objects of matter cannot occupy the same space at the same time. If you bump into the corner of the bench with your knee, or if you try to put two cars into the same space on the highway you will quickly discover that ignoring those laws don’t negate their truth.