Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Ephesians 4:13-15
In 1875, scientists and government representatives from around the world met in Paris to solve a growing problem. As new methods of communication made it easier to share discoveries, researchers often found that they were not speaking the same language of measurement. A gram or a meter did not always mean the same thing, making it difficult to compare results or build on one another’s work. Their solution was the creation of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, which established a universal standard. With everyone measuring by the same standard, knowledge could be shared accurately and scientific progress accelerated.
The standard of measure for us as believers is not set by tradition, churches, or leaders. The standard is set for us by God, and that standard is Jesus Christ. We are not to compare ourselves to others because doing so leads either to pride if we see ourselves as better in some way or to discouragement if we focus on the ways in which we fall short. ”For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Corinthians 10:12). Instead our focus is to be on Jesus and removing everything from our lives that would keep us from being more like Him.
