Following the Straight Line

 

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

"OK, Kerry, just follow this straight line I made for you and you'll be fine."

"But, Dad, what if I get off the line? This mower is hard for me to maneuver."

"That's ok. Do your best. If you get a little off, just look at the line and correct your course. It doesn't have to be perfect. It will all work out in the end."

"But, Dad, what if I can't make out the line? Sometimes I can't see where I'm going!"

"Kerry, look down the line. Do you see that post down there? That's your reference point. If you cannot see the line in front of you, just keep your eyes on the reference point. I promise you will stay the course. You'll be able to look back when the lawn is done and see a beautiful straight line. It will all work out."

Every time I mow the lawn, I hear my dad's instructions in my head. I have a particularly challenging part of the yard; whenever I mow that part, I can rarely see where I've been already. I can rarely see the straight line. After much frustration mowing one day, I finally heeded Dad's advice from long ago: I found a reference point. Now when I mow, I have a fence post on the west end of the lawn and a sidewalk line on the east. As long as I keep my eyes on the reference point, no matter which direction I'm facing, I can keep the straight line.

When I veer off the line a bit, I still hear my dad saying, "That's ok. Just make an adjustment, correct your course. It will be fine in the end." And he was right. When the lawn is finished and I survey my hard work, even if I can see where I got off the straight line, I can also see where I adjusted and corrected my course. Rather than being an ugly reminder of my lack of perfection, the course correction is a beautiful reminder that the overall picture remains whole. The job is still accomplished; the reward for my labor is still intact.

Paul’s encouragement to Timothy in his second letter was to present himself to God as one already deemed worthy to do the job. I know for a fact that the first time I stood behind a lawnmower, I was not worthy to do the job well. However, my dad’s belief in me and his patience in teaching me how to do the job made me a worthy candidate for other mowing jobs down the road. In the same way, I am not worthy to stand before God as his worker, yet He placed His stamp of approval on me when His Son took my sins upon Himself. God said on that day, “You can stand before me with confidence; you can present yourself to me as one approved because I see you through the righteousness of Christ.” This is why Hebrews 4:16 admonishes us to boldly approach the throne of grace with full confidence and without shame. I don’t have to vet myself to be a worker; Jesus already placed His stamp of approval on me.

My job is to keep a straight line. How do I do this? First, I set my eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of my faith. He is the standard by which I measure and He is that reference point I need to walk a straight line in life. He does not expect me never to veer; He knows I will occasionally need a course correction, but overall, God is building my capacity to follow His straight line. Paul told Timothy to be the one who correctly handles the word of truth. The phrase, “correctly handles,” or as the KJV puts it, “rightly divides” literally means to “cut straight.” The only way I can see my reference point and follow the straight mowing line is to be in the Word of God. It is there I receive the direction from God that helps me know when I am veering to the left or to the right. It is in His Word where I receive instruction in course correcting. The prophet Isaiah spoke to the nation of Judah when they were contemplating veering from the straight line. God’s people were enticed by the nations on either side and were shunning God’s instructions in favor of “carrying out plans that are not mine [God’s], forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit” (Isaiah 30:1). In so doing, Isaiah said God’s people were “heaping sin upon sin” (30:2) They needed a course correction and fast! Later in Isaiah 30 we are told how to correct a course that is veering from the straight line, how to reset our reference point to God: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength ... Yet, the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. ... Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it” (30:15, 18a; 21).

All we need to do to cut a straight line is listen to our Father, set our eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. He is the One who will make our lines straight. He is the One who will look back on our life and say, “Job well done. Let’s go have a tall glass of iced tea and rest.”