When I moved to America, I quickly learned that Americans use different forms of measurement. This transition was a bit of a challenge for me.
I went from:
- Kilometers to Miles
- Meters to Yards
- Centimeters to Inches
- Milliliters to Ounces
Even now, it still messes me up. I’m constantly converting in my head, trying to make sense of it all. But then it hit me: coming into the kingdom of God requires us to learn a new form of measurement too.
In Revelation 21:17-18, we see an interesting contrast in how things are measured. Verse 17 says, “The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick.”
Human measurement focuses on size—things like stats, stature, status, and scoreboards. It’s all about how big, how much, how many. Then, in verse 18, it shifts: “The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold.”
Heaven’s measurement focuses on what the wall and the city are made of. Heaven emphasizes weight and substance. It’s not about what we accomplish, but about what we are made of.
So, we can say: Man uses sticks; God uses scales. This reminds me of the story of King Belshazzar in Daniel 5:27. When he read the writing on the wall, one of the words written was “Tekel,” which means, “You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.” This clearly shows how God is more concerned with what we are made of than with what we have accomplished.
We see this again in Revelation 3:17–18, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich.”
According to human measurement, the Laodicean church seemed to be doing really well. Outwardly, they were rich; but inwardly, they were poor. Jesus went on to say, “Buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be RICH.” Rich, in this sense, refers to substance—what you are made of.
I’ve realized that I need to stop measuring my worth by the world’s standard of measurement. And I want to encourage you, just as I remind myself: Allow God to make you a person of substance. Let’s focus on what we are made of, not just what we have accomplished.
Keep the fire burning!!!
