There are so many rules in life.
Often times, we try to build ourselves up with the rules and standards that everyone around us sets for us. We rely on someone else’s opinion of us to dictate how we act, think, talk and walk. In Amos 7, God speaks through Amos about a plumb line. This tool involves a cord with a weight at one end that is held up to the top of a structure. As gravity pulls the weight downward, you can determine whether vertical structures are straight by comparison. Here, the image of a plumb line is used symbolically to refer to the godly standard against which the Lord would measure the behavior of His people.
What if that plumb line was applied to our life? How would we measure up? Yikes!! I’m sure most days my spiritual wall would be leaning and often times I feel like it is crumbling to pieces. We can’t rely on this world to tell us what is right and wrong. We must choose to study God’s Word and test ourselves against His standards. Of course, we will fail daily, but if we are striving to build our lives with the bricks that are found throughout the scriptures, our walls will be firm and straight. When the “Master Builder” brings out His plumb line, He will see a life that was devoted to obeying His commands and building a life that honors Him!
“This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. “The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.” Amos 7:7-9
Father, may my only plumb line in life be Your Word. Help me to study it, understand it and be quick to obey its commands. When I mess up, because I know I will, I will be thankful for your mercy that always triumphs over your judgement.
