Grading on the Curve

This morning our pastor (Have I told you how much I love our church?) began his sermon talking about the idea of grading on the curve. Maybe you were one of those curve breakers... you know, scoring nearly perfect on a really hard test and making it impossible for the teacher to curve the test. Or, maybe you were on the other end of the equation.

You left the test depressed, but after talking to a few of your friends, you discovered that they, too, failed the test. Your hopes rise a bit because you discover more people who failed the test. The teacher has to curve it if everyone failed, you think hopefully. You start looking for others in your class... you find a few more, and they, too, failed the test. Your hopes soar. The next day you sit in class blissfully hopeful. You have not talked to anyone who thought they did well on this test. Then, your teachers informs you and the class that two people made a perfect score on the test. Blissful hope suddenly becomes painful reality, and you are now angry at these two people who made a perfect score. How could they do this to me, you think? Why are you angry at them? They met the standard, but you did not. (Story by Dr. Rev. Randy Jenkins of Central Presbyterian Church) 

We all want to be graded on the curve, do we not? Dr. Jenkins began his sermon with Luke 5:1-8,

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” (Luke 5:1-8 ESV)

Here is Peter, my favorite apostle, being who he is. He was confronted with the holiness of God and his response was immediate... complete and utter ruin. He was a sinful man in every way when the standard was the holiness of God,. And, like it or not, that is our standard as Christians... absolute holiness.

We will admit to a love affair with holiness, but do we really love it, or do we like how it looks on others? We love holiness, but as Dr. Rev. Jenkins stated, we tend to love it from afar. From a distance, we can admire it safely and speak highly of it in our own little bubble. We can use it to judge others from the safety of our bubble. And, we love our bubble because we are safe from the world in our bubble, but we also love our bubble because inside our safe and secure bubble we will always be graded on the curve. The curve, after all, makes us part of the standard, and throws out the original standard.  

Peter loved holiness too, but he was not afraid to get close it to it and let it beat him up. He wanted to be holy, even when he went about it in all the wrong ways. He had no interest in being graded on the curve. He wanted more of Christ and more of holiness and was willing to take risks and setbacks to get more. You remember Peter, do you not? He got wet, cut of an ear and denied His Lord three times. But, he was also the apostle on whom Jesus was going to build His church. Peter was not interested in his own safe bubble or the curve; he wanted holiness. His acts, and sometimes I think they were grabs at holiness before the time was right, were desperate and crazy, but they were never ever safe.

Peter knew that he was not the measure of absolute holiness; he loved and believed Jesus and knew that Jesus was. Therefore, he kept trying. He failed and fell only to pick himself up again and again and chase after Jesus. Peter wanted nothing to do with the curve. He knew Jesus was his standard, and Jesus was perfect and complete and absolute holiness. Even at his lowest points, Peter was chasing Christ and wanting more.

What is our standard? Anything other than Christ is wanting to be graded on the curve.