Amos 7:8 Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them;

Amos sees a plumb line in a vision from God. If you have any carpentry or masonry experience you know what this is. A string with a weight attached to it so that you hold it up to a wall and determine if it is straight.

Last night at Bible Study we talked about how often we compare our lives to other people. Whether they be on TV, our neighbors, friends, or family members – our natural tendency is to see what they have or do or say and measure ourselves by them.

We’ve chosen the wrong instrument.

The plumb line is Jesus. He is God’s standard. He is the Word made flesh (John 1:14).

This is important for our church:
We must never capitulate to the whims of our society. It doesn’t matter what the culture does or says. Our standard is Jesus. It doesn’t matter what the President believes – only Jesus is our leader. He is TRUE. He is STRAIGHT. He is RIGHT.

This is important for me:
As a Pastor, I must never make another church leader my plumb line. Can they help me find the plumb line? Yes. But ultimately, they are not the standard by which I measure myself. Jesus is. I am not called to emulate the successful ministry of any other man. I am called to be the best Christ follower I can be where I am.

This is important for you:
If you haven’t made Jesus the plumb line in your life, it means someone else already is. And guess what? That person is already crooked. That means you (a crooked person) are making decisions based on what another crooked person is doing. How can you ever expect your house to stand?

When Amos sees the vision of the plumb line – God is reminding a nation that had lost its way because it wanted to be like everyone around them.

So often I see the church do the same thing.

Yet the facts remain:
We are not supposed to be loved by everyone. (Luke 6:26)
We are not supposed to be powerful in the eyes of the world. (1 Cor. 1:27)
We are not supposed to accepted. (Luke 21:17)

A church that loses sight of God’s plumb line has lost its right to exist.

May we all stand the course, look straight at Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2) and keep fighting the good fight of faith.