Measuring Stick

You can only measure to the accuracy of your gauge. You can’t measure fractions of a millimetre if your ruler only has centimetre markings.
A hair’s width does sometimes make a significant difference.
At other times it makes no difference at all.

Purity in manufacturing calls for high degrees of accuracy in measurement and discernment. For example, the silicon crystals in electrical semiconductors must be greater than 99.9999% pure (and the impurities are very specifically added.)

But what about purity in our moral beings.

What gauge or discernment do we use for these measurements?

To measure centimetres accurately the markings on a ruler need to be accurately and evenly spaced. What if only some of the markings were accurate but not all of them?
Though some measurements would seem correct on our ruler another ruler would read differently. Which one could be relied upon?

This is the problem with our sin, our moral compass, and our bias.

Jesus said to the Pharisees, who believed their moral compass was precise and finely tuned, that they would strain at a gnat yet swallow a camel.

In other words, their judgement of sin and purity was simply to their own liking and they were blind or indifferent to the weightier matters of the law.

Others of us know clearly that our moral compass is basically non-existent, but we take refuge in the knowledge that others have committed what we believe are far greater crimes, and that if anyone were to call us into question, we could pull out our knowledge of their failings and somehow nullify their argument.

But when the Lord, the Holy Spirit appears and acts in our lives, our biased, inaccurate, weak moral compasses are consumed by holy fire.

Suddenly we are undone, as we are convicted of guilt, judgement and righteousness (Gods holy, utterly pure and impeccable moral standards) and we can only cry out; “who will save me from this body of death?”

Thanks be to God, who so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.