Margin of Error

The first snowstorm of the season hit northeastern Pennsylvania and lots of other places yesterday. In my area, they were calling for 3-6 inches. I’m a terrible gauge of measurement but even I know we got way more than that! Closer to 10 actually. From experience, we’ve learned that meteorology is not an exact science. You may even say it’s the profession with the largest acceptable margin of error. But they missed this prediction by a mile! And many people got stuck at work, or on the roads, or were involved in accidents because of it.

To be fair, I’m thankful for the grace that is extended in many other venues of life. Work situations, relationships, finances, and nearly every area allows for missteps. If they didn’t, we’d be in trouble because none of us is faultless. And yet there is One Who requires that we be.

We serve an Almighty, all-seeing, all-knowing God who accepts nothing less than perfection. That’s because He is also holy, perfect, and righteous. All have sinned or missed the mark (Rom 3:23). Scripture is very clear on that. Yet some believe if we haven’t done anything really bad, like killed someone, we’re okay. Not when it comes to the Lord. He has no margin of error. How do we know this? James 2:10 says it plainly: For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (NIV).

Right from the beginning, God communicated that there are no small, insignificant, or acceptable sins. All Adam and Eve did was disobey Him. Was it really that big a deal that they ate the fruit they were told not partake of? It was according to the only One Who matters: And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Gen 2:16-17 NIV) The results of that one act of disobedience were catastrophic: to them, the creation itself, and every human being (Gen 3:14-19).

Perfection is required, yet none of us can attain it. So God sent Jesus to be perfect for us. In Him, we are faultless, righteous, and holy (I Cor 6:11). Through Him we can be reconciled to the Almighty (Col 1:19-20, II Cor 5:17-19).

When the weatherman gets it wrong, may it remind us that our Heavenly Father has no margin of error. And cause us to turn to Jesus.

Just something I couldn’t be more thankful for along the way.