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Check Your Gauge
I know him and I keep his word. (John 8:55)
I decided to knit myself a sweater coat recently. I obtained the pattern, purchased the supplies and sat down to work.
It's a good idea to make a swatch before beginning any wearable project. This ensures your stitches are the same as the designers so you obtain the desired fit.Making a swatch is time consuming and I have overheard many say a waste of time.
Before you follow this theory let's do a small math calculation. You are told to try a swatch that would give you a 4 inch square using 10 stitches and 13 rows on a size 11 needle. You knit accordingly but your swatch comes out to 3 ½ inches. So what, it's just a small swatch. Now apply that ½ inch difference to the completed project. The directions will give you, for example, a sweater with a 40 inch bust but your ½ difference makes that bust size 34 inches. Ooooppps. Now it doesn't fit.
When I made my sweater I checked gauge but I didn't follow the pattern properly. According to the design I was to follow the size Medium instructions. I made the coat a size larger because I didn't believe the designer's word that with that gauge I would require a size medium. I haven't been a size medium in 20 years !!! So I now have a treasured sweater that is too big for me. I should have believed the designer.
The Bible gives us a gauge to follow: Jesus Christ. He is the complete pattern. We can try to modify the pattern ourselves but we are likely to come up short. Some people will pick portions of Scripture disregarding those words that "don't fit" into their life. Others will add a little here and there to make a better fit for themselves. But, just like in a knit or crochet pattern, you can make modifications, however, it will alter the final outcome. Deuteronomy 12:32 See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.
When seeking God's plan we need to believe the creator. "In all goodness he chose to make us his own children by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his choice possession." James 1:8
Some patterns have errors in them. With the popularity of the internet it is easy to contact the designer to seek out corrections. The Bible doesn't need correction. Proverbs 30:5 "Every word of God is flawless"
Do you look to God's Word as complete truth? Or do you try to "modify the pattern" for a more comfortable fit?
Follow the pattern set out by Jesus Christ, and you will be assured of a perfect fit. |
