Amos was a shepherd whom God called to speak God’s word.  There was concern about justice in the nation, and the people of God being aligned with their purpose.  Were they being who they said they were?  Were they being who they thought they were?

In order to get the accurate picture, God gave Amos the vision of a plumb line to set before the people.  A plumb line is a string with a heavy object attached to it.  By letting the plumb line hang, nature’s pull of gravity will tell if a wall, post, etc. is accurately vertical.  I learned this from my Dad when I used to help him with projects. Later I found it helpful in my work on mission trips.

Being an artist, I love that God gives images to help us see and understand.  The Bible is full of images.  Jesus taught in parables which are images that contain the truth and help us realize the truth!  We might ask ourselves, “Where is our plumb line?”  Words from the Declaration of Independence might be a good plumb line for America…

How how are we measuring up?

The Bible is a plumb line for people of God who are willing to be open to understanding the scriptures as revealed by the Holy Spirit.  It then becomes the “Living Word” for every person in every time and place. The Bible was the measuring place for my grandmother.  This is her Bible which originally belonged to her mother.

The cover page is a little difficult to read, but it says that the Bible was given to my great grandmother by her church in 1919.  Now the “plumb line” for my grandmother is revealed in the back of this Bible as she recorded her readings…”finished reading Bible through”…and then gave the year.

Every single year for 22 years my grandmother read the entire Bible.  I have to tell you that I stand in awe of this!  I feel that as she did this prayerfully, with an open heart,  she received the words and images God wanted to give her to help her live her life.  It was her plumb line for her journey of faith.  The discipline of her regular reading was her measure for “How am I doing ?”.

Dear Grandma, I remember how I used to brush and braid your hair while you told me stories. I loved that time with you.  It helped me understand about life and gave me perspective. Sometimes I wish you were still here.

Pondering…

What is a “plumb line” for you?

Has God given you an image that helped you see the truth?

nk