The Standard

Jesus is the Standard.

Well duh, you might think. That’s, like, so obvious. Of course he’s the standard, it’s not going to be anyone else is it? Funny I should ask that on your behalf.

Recently I was doing a test for … ahhhh well that would be telling, it was just a test in preparation for another test that I hope to happen soon. In any case, I do the test and I get the result. When I got it I shared it with, among other people, my sister. Ruth is a year older than me, but for years she might as well have been ten years older. I held her to that high esteem. In a lot of ways she was the standard. She did things first and she did them well. She never rubbed my face in it, she didn’t gloat – it’s not her style. It was clear to me though, that she was excelling in what she did. So I relied on her a lot. She was the standard for me.

Sure, my Dad set an example and everything, but it was really Ruth that set the standard for life and achievement. Until I left home. When I left home and went to university, although ti wasn’t always conscious, I was looking for a standard. A standard in the pursuit of excellence at the university. It really should have been about the academic pursuit, but then my first flatmate and very good friend Lloyd became the standard in his commitment to the university radio station.

I followed him into the radio station and got hung up with it. Loved the whole radio gig and grew in my appreciation of the whole audio experience. There were some presenters that were really good at what they did and I observed them. There were some producers that were really good at what they did and I observed them too. It was Lloyd though that set the standard. He was committed fully. It was great not just to observe but to also, in my own way, seek to pursue. I miss the whole involvement in the audio experience, but maybe … anyway. That experience was good for the time at university.

That time, however, came to an end. Two figures then set the standard for me in their pursuit of the mission of God. I will get into those two figures perhaps in a future blog, but one of those figures stuck around for the better part of 20 years in my life to the point that when I had an issue I deferred to him on the matter.

The issue was about being around others who may be frequent church attendees, but may not necessarily be followers of Christ. It’s intriguing because following Jesus should really establish Him as the Standard. There should be something about our lives that have the clear indication that we’re pursuing Him as the standard in not too dissimilar a way that I followed my sister at home and then Lloyd at university. We’re captured by His life and purpose and before long His life is our life, His purpose is our purpose and He is the standard for everything living. That should be the case … and often isn’t.

What tends to be the case is we would prefer Jesus to help us to attain a life of a different standard. A standard of security and comfort and material well-being. A standard where inconvenience is minimised, the awkward is reduced to the point of elimination where possible. A standard where suffering is shunned and self-gratification is held high. It’s such a pity that this is such a sham of a standard to aim for, because it is so much less than the fullness of humanity. That fullness of everything humanity could ever be called to be is seen in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

This is why I am encouraged to take this Standard more seriously than ever before. Once again I see and acknowledge that rather than bemoaning the lack of a culture that promotes it, I am called to be that Kingdom Agent of Change. That Kingdom Agent of Change that points to the Standard. Living that kind of life in itself will surely have a knock-on effect on influencing others. In so doing it won’t be something to take for granted or as a cliche answer. It will be something to affirm and constantly reinforce.

Jesus is the Standard.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden