“Who despises the day of small things? Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel”
Zech 4:10
The plumb line is used to set the standard, to align the building, making sure it is straight and true. I may not be a builder but I have used a plumb line when decorating. Making sure you have a straight line for the first piece of wallpaper is essential or the line can get worse as you go along until the whole wall appears to be leaning. Of course in an old house I have still come to the corner and found a big gap between the top and the bottom. In a new house this should not be a problem. The walls should be straight and the plaster smooth making decorating a simpler task.
In the building of God’s house we should take great care to build on good foundations and align ourselves with the word of God. Our plumb line must be straight and true or the whole building will be unstable. We cannot compromise the truth or pick and choose how much we should obey. In our lives it may seem like nit picking over small things, but they matter to God. People may say that what we are doing is insignificant, but we must set our hearts on building what will last forever.
In the church over the years, when people have rejected the teaching and left in large numbers, some have compromised and adjusted the message to suit their target audience. This has sent a confused message to those seeking spiritual life as different churches have their own standards and boundaries. Many people have sought answers in other religions or tried to mix and match to find what suits them.
The bible is clear and Jesus did not compromise when people rejected His teaching. He allowed them to walk away and we must do the same. We do them no favours when we lower God’s standards and tell people it is OK because times have changed. God does not change. He paid the highest price by giving His own Son to take the punishment in our place. Sin matters to God and we have the bible to explain exactly what sin is. The list is not limited to the ten commandments or just the obvious things such as murder, theft and sexual immorality.
In Matthew chapters five, six and seven Jesus elaborates on the teaching about these things. Jesus said
“everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
Matt 7:24
We must live as He taught us if we want to be stable and stand firm through the storms of life.
What then should our plumb line be as we begin to live this way?
“Jesus replied ‘ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.’ ”
Matt 22:37-38
This should be our plumb line and everything we do should be added along side it. If we start with the greatest commandment, everything else should align perfectly. If we begin with our own ideas or compromise at the start, how can we make what has been twisted straight again.
We can then follow with the second commandments
“And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matt 22:39-40
A common mistake is to try to do the second commandment without doing the first. As Christians we should care for the poor and suffering because this is God’s heart, but this cannot take first place. Nothing is more important than loving God, anything which takes His place in our hearts is an idol. People may pressurise us saying that we are not doing anything when we spend our lives on loving God through prayer and worship, and try to get us busy doing things for people. The danger is that without being connected with God we run the risk of doing things in our own strength. We will be so much more effective when we set our hearts on loving God first and receiving His strength to do the work.
Let us hold up the plumb line. We live for God first, then others, and watch as the building begins to take shape.
