The promotional ruler has two equally important purposes, the first purpose is to ensure guaranteed accuracy on how items “measure up” and meet the only approved standard by which all measurements on a project are judged.  You may complain or even disagree but the measurement is final.  The second is to promote the message wherever it is used.

Just as the ruler measures items, as Christians we find the Written Word of God exclusively measures our spiritual condition.  2 Tim. 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thourghly equipped for every good work”.  Our work and outreach for the kingdom are measured by this supreme standard.

How do we “measure up” and become part of His kingdom?  Rulers are made of plastic, cloth, wood, steel and digital.  What the ruler is made of has no effect on the reality that the ruler is the only acceptable standard.  God’s Word, in whatever form, is God’s only guaranteed standard.  The forms may be the printed page, electronic, cinematic, audio, or shared verbally by people from memory.  No matter.  God’s Word has the same impact.  Whether it is the Written Word (Holy Bible) or the Living Word (Jesus Christ), we are accountable to God in whatever form He reveals Himself; because He is the spiritual measuring stick.  It is by God’s grace that the penalty of sin is paid in full by Christ on the cross.  The promise in 1 Peter 3:18 states, “Christ suffered and died once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (the entire world of people including YOU specifically)!  Our part is “to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and we shall be saved” (Acts 16:31, John 1:12).  That is very easy for us!  This fact does not cheapen Christ’s completed work on the cross for us, nor was it easy for Him.  It was made easy enough so all people, including you, can enter His kingdom.  John 3:16, the most recognized and memorized verse in the Bible, “For God so loved the world (of people) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:17-18 is an example of God’s awesome grace and mercy when God declares, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not stands condemned already because they did not believe in the name of God’s one and only Son”.  To “measure up” to God’s standard is to personally believe in the finished work of Christ.

The second purpose of a promotional ruler is to display the message of the designer wherever it is in use.  The outcome of our work, words and speech promotes to the world how well we demonstrate the biblical principles that direct our day-by-day lives. We display the message of our designer, the Lord himself, so much so Matthew 5:16 states, “Let your light so shine that everyone will see your good deeds and glorify the father who is in heaven” and Colossians 3:17 reads, “Whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”.

The Apostle Paul knew he was a living advertisement of His God, with his life on display before men, when he declared in Philippians 4:9, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you”.  Obviously one does not put the Lord first because of the fact you are a sermon in shoes.  You put Him first because He is a leader worth following!  You must stay aware of the fact that your life is on display for the world to see regardless of whether your actions are positive or negative.  Let it never be said about you; “If that is the way a Christian is then why do I want to believe in him?”.  Instead, like Paul you say, “If you see me, you see the Lord I serve!”  Sometime when we realize we are called by the Lord to do something, we respond with, “Right after I  (fill in your blank). You come first!”   Is that the way we put Christ first, or does it really put Him in second place?

In John 13:23, John uses a special term to refer to himself, “One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.”  John identified himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved.  This did not discount the fact the Lord loves us all since John 3:16 demonstrates that!  I realized when I read this that I too can say, “I am the one whom Christ loves!” As we promote Christ, we first must consciously realize who we are in Christ before we can responsibly reflect the love of Christ to others.

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