The Unchanging Standard

A master jeweler once told an apprentice, "Never judge a diamond's quality by comparing it to other diamonds in the case. Judge it against the standard." He pulled out a flawless reference stone, certified and unchanging, against which every other gem was measured. "Opinions shift," he said. "Fashions change. But this standard never moves." When Peter writes, "But just as He who called you is holy, so be you holy in all you conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy,'" he is not offering a suggestion shaped by cultural context.…