Standards

Our life is full of standards. Standards that have either been set for us by someone else, or standards we have set for ourselves. Those standards may be high, low, attainable or even out of reach. Either way, standards should be set to challenge us. To give us a goal. To make us push to the limit & give our best.

In light of standards, we know that God set some pretty high standards in creation. And to take a deeper look at these, let's take a look at some of the extreme standards set in place for Earth:

1. Composition of the Earth's atmosphere: the fact that there is enough oxygen to sustain ALL life
2. Water: the fact there is enough water to sustain ALL life
3. Distance from the sun: the fact that if we were any closer or further away, we would either burn alive or freeze to death
4. Rotation: circular gravitational pull is necessary - any other shaped rotation would cause us to freeze to death or burn alive
5. Placement of planet: the Earth is encompassed within the rotations of Jupiter & Saturn - these planets protect the Earth from outside dangers by absorbing & taking the hits

All of these extreme standards, and more, are certainly set in place for the Earth to show us the fingerprint of our creator. His fingerprint is also on the human body. Let's take a look at just one extreme standard the Lord has set for our human body:

• Laminin - the protein in our body that holds all things together. Without Laminin, we would certainly not survive. Laminin holds all of our cells together & holds all of our tissue in place & intact. It literally holds our body together. Now, the most important thing about a protein is it's shape. If it doesn't have it's designated shape, it will not function. Without it's designed shape, it will not do its job. So Laminin must have & keep its shape to do its job & hold all things together. 

Now let's take a look at Philippians 3:12-16. What Paul is talking about here is pressing on. Pressing on & pursuing the standard of Christ. And Paul emphasizes how he has not already reached the standard, but because he has not reached it, it is exactly why he is pressing on to live up to it. And here's the deal with the standard of Christ: once you become a Christian, you now have a new standard. The standard of Christ. And you can't escape it. You can't claim to follow Christ & then live to another standard. Being a Christian REQUIRES the standard of Christ. It requires to live your life FOR Him & LIKE Him. 

So back to Laminin. The protein that holds all things together. Remember the most important part of a protein? Shape. Take a look below at the shape of Laminin. Unbelievable. And the really cool part about Laminin, it's shape & the standard of Christ? Colossians 1:17 tells us that in Christ, "all things hold together." 

So what standard are you living up to? What standard are you basing your life upon? The standard of the world? Your friends? Or the standard of Christ? The standard of the Cross?

JV