We've probably all been given the advice to not compare ourselves to others, and this is such a valuable piece of advice. When we compare ourselves to the people of this world, we put ourselves on a path to destruction.
There's always going to be someone above and below your standard. When you compare yourself to the lesser, you will allow pride to creep in. When you compare with the higher standard, you will be left feeling as if you are not enough.
But what if there was a comparison that could rid us of these sinful thoughts? I have good news, there is!
Jesus is the ultimate standard.
I recently attended a retreat that focused on the idea of becoming undone, or broken. In order to feel this idea of brokenness, we can compare ourselves to the only one worth comparing to. Jesus was blameless. We will always fall short when we use him as our standard.
When Isaiah sees the Lord, he describes him as "high and lifted up" and glorious. He then goes on to describe himself as "a man of unclean lips" that dwells "in the midst of a people of unclean lips."
In this very moment, when Isaiah sees God, he realizes that God is mighty and he is not. He realizes that God is Holy and he is unclean. He realizes that God is worthy of all praise and he is worthy of none.
It is so important for us to realize this truth. We deserve nothing when we evaluate ourselves next to Jesus.
This may sound crazy considering we're trying to rid ourselves of the guilt and shame that comes with comparisons, but there is good news ahead!
When we realize that we deserve nothing when compared to Jesus, we grasp how significant His grace truly is.
Jesus restores the brokenness inside of us that sin creates.
When we allow Jesus to come into our lives, he rids us completely of all of the sin that makes us feel broken. He wipes it completely clean.
I hear this idea of Jesus wiping my sins away all the time, but I never recognized how significant it was until I realized how undeserving I really am. I fall into temptations. I idolize things of the world. I get jealous. I fall so short of being righteous.
It is okay though because Jesus took my punishment.
We don't have to feel the shame and disgrace that we deserve because Jesus suffered that wrath of God that we deserved.
So the next time you feel as if you are not enough- remember that you're not, but it's okay because Jesus is.
"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sit-in upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple... And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: 'Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!'... And then he touched my mouth and said: 'Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for'"
Isaiah 6:1-7 ESV
