Perfectly Imperfect

Just about anybody who has spent any significant amount of time around me or had any kind of genuinely deep conversation with me will likely attest to the fact that I have a pretty strong tendency toward perfectionism, in my aspects. Everything I do, I make every effort to do to the best of my ability and better than the rest. I couldn't even begin to tell how many pieces of writing, of various types, I've completely thrown out over the years because the piece in question "wasn't good enough."

There's never anyone around me who's anywhere near as harsh a critic of me as I am and there probably never will be. Even when I'm running the sound system at my church, for example, and everyone around me can't stop complimenting what I did, I'll pretty much always be able to point out mistakes I made or things I could have done better. The same is true with the visual arts projects I've done over the years, including videos I've made and even this website.

It's not just activities where that flaw in my personality rears its ugly head, though. It happens on a pretty regular basis in my faith journey and my family life, as well. I know I've made mistakes I could have avoided over the years and I know I'll never even really come close to achieving real perfection in those areas. In fact, I've had a few written conversations with my brother over the course of the last few months that really brought that very concept to the forefront of my mind.

Biologically, I'm not a father, but in the case of my brother, I have spent many years pretty much playing that role. Over the course of those years, I've made more mistakes than I can count, some more significant than others, and I know I've been far from the perfect example I always hoped to be. The thing is, though, despite the fact that I didn't do everything right, I did enough.

The same is true for my faith journey. I stumble and I fail a lot more often than I'd like to admit. Yes, I've spent my whole life struggling with various temptations and sins, but so has everyone else. As much as I wish it weren't true, I know I'll never be perfect.

I know I'll always have struggles and I'll always fall short of the glory of God, but so will everyone else (Romans 3:23). The thing I always have to keep reminding myself of with regard to that is that I'm simply not expected to be perfect. If I were capable of the true perfection I strive for, I'd have no need for the greatest sacrifice ever made.

I know I'm not capable of that and I accepted my need for that sacrifice that was made by Jesus on the cross when I was 14. And as is indicated in many passages throughout the Bible, that was exactly God's plan. He knew I wouldn't be able to achieve the perfection necessary to earn an eternity in His presence, so He paid the debt for me (Colossians 2:13-14).

My good deeds, no matter how many of them I manage to accomplish, will always be nothing more than filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) and my soul on its own is nothing more than a rotting mess of death and decay. But just like anyone and everyone else who has ever accepted that fact and embraced the salvation provided through faith in Jesus Christ, my soul is no longer mine.

It's been bought through the blood of the Righteous One who gave Himself so I no longer needed to achieve the unachievable. The same is true for you, fellow believer. Yes, we all should and will continue to do the best we can, but the debt has already been paid and the righteousness of the only one who could ever really achieve it has already been imparted on us.

As Jesus said in 2 Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."

Yes, you're weak. Yes, you're unworthy. So am I. But as soon as we recognize that and put our faith in the Jesus Christ, those flaws are all washed away in baptism and we become an entirely new creation.

That doesn't mean life will be easy or that you won't continue to fail, but it does mean those failures aren't nearly as bad as they seem. As long as your faith is in the right place, all is never lost.

Even if you're not at the point in your life when you've taken that step and made that faith commitment, your situation may be different, but you're still not completely lost. It's never too late to make a change, as long as you're still alive. And if that's the position you're in, ask yourself, "What am I waiting for?"

If the answer to that question has something to do with self-improvement or making yourself more presentable in the eyes of God, or anything along those lines, trust me, that's a battle you'll never win. And it's one you don't have to fight. Whatever condition you're in, that's exactly the condition He wants to meet you in. Let His power be perfected in your weakness and He'll do the rest.