Compared to my brothers, I am tiny at 5’ 4” and 115lbs.  There are all much bigger than me.  My three younger brothers are all well over 6 feet tall.  When we were growing up, we had a doorjamb that my parents would mark our growth on.  Usually, this was done on our birthday.  I have seen a lot of homes with very similar doorjambs.

We spend our lives being measured.  Everyone wants to know the newborn’s weight and length.  Parents measure them every month for their baby book.  We love to get hand and foot prints when they are so tiny and then again in Kindergarten.  We are constantly being physically measured for drivers license, the military, sports, medical reasons and much more.

We use all sorts of things to measure ourselves.  How fast can we run a mile, how much weight can we lift, how many RBI’s we had, baskets made, grades, musical talents, trophies, ribbons, how many cookies sold and the list goes on.  This list changes as we grow up and get jobs.  We make our parents, bosses and coaches proud and we disappoint them and ourselves.  We constantly compare ourselves to others.  How do we measure up against whomever?

Psychiatrist call it the “Napoleon Complex” when shorter people try compensating for their height in other ways.  Whether it is financial, acquiring more possessions, bigger house, fancier title, etc.  I have many scars from trying to do the things my brothers could do.  When we fail to “measure up” to our peers, depression, resentment, envy and self-hate can set in.  We measure ourselves against athletes, movie stars, famous musicians, our parents, siblings and friends.

We carry this burden and mentality of having to “measure up” into adulthood.  Unfortunately, we also bring it into our relationship with God.  We believe we have to prove our worth to Him.  We are convinced that we have to “measure up” to some spiritual yardstick.

Romans 3:10 “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (NKJV)   We will never be good enough, but the amazing thing is, that we don’t have to be.  God loves us period!  Eph. 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” (NIV)  Grace, what an amazing, powerful word.  We are saved by grace, not by deeds.  There is only one thing I must do, accept the Gift–Jesus Christ.

Romans 7:18 “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” (NIV)  We want to do good, we want to please God, but we have a sinful nature.  That’s not to say we can not please God.  There are many things we can do that are pleasing to God, but it isn’t what gets us salvation.  We could do “good deeds” all day for our entire lives, but if we do not accept Christ as our savior, where is our eternity?  The moon makes no light of it’s own and yet when we look up we see the moon…lit up.  The moon simply reflects the sun, just as we should reflect the Son.

How does God measure us?  Does He measure us?  Who does He compare us to?  Ephesians 5:1-3 “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

I believe God compares us to Christ, because He calls us to be Christ-like.  Of course, Christ was perfect and we are not, but Christ is the model He gave us to follow.  Are you being Christ-like in all areas of your life?  I know that I am not.  I struggle in my prayer life.  There is comfort in knowing that I can turn to the Word to see how Christ prayed.  Luke 5:16 tells me that Christ often went off alone to pray to the Father.  Do I spend alone time with God?

I learn a lot about God from Livvy, she is 3 years old.  She loves to play, she trusts everyone, she is kind to all people, she smiles at everyone, she shares (most of the time) and she is so loving.  She hugs homeless people, drunk people, grandparents, strangers, little kids and she even loves me when I am being “ugly”.  She hasn’t learned to compare herself to others.  She accepts that God loves her just as she is, that He made her special.  She knows that God will use her for His good.  When she is sad, she prays.  When she is in trouble, she prays.  When she is happy, she dances and sings, “How Great Thou Art” or “Lamb of God”.  When someone hurts, she prays for them.  How does that teach me anything?

Matthew 18:3 ”And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”  (NIV) That verse says it all.  While I am teaching Livvy how to grow up, she is teaching me how to stay a child.

Matthew 9:13b “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  See, Christ isn’t looking for “perfect” people.  He is looking for me and you. I know that I am nothing without Christ and therefore Christ can use me.  I also know that Phil. 4:13 tells me I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I believe God measures me by my spiritual growth.  He knows where I was spiritually 20 years ago, 20 days ago and 20 minutes ago.  It is my responsibility to grow in Him.  I can do that only by reading His Word, spending time with Him, being obedient to Him and by being still.  He knows that my anger dissipates much quicker than it used to.  He knows that I forgive more quickly than I used to.  I only need to be Christ-like, continue growing and become more like a child everyday.  So, while I may physically grow, my heart must remain like the heart of a child; trusting, loving and open.