Siding With Perfection
You’re so PERFECT.
Who do you think you are? GOD?
IMPERFECTIONS! Do you like it when yours show? I don’t.
Many of us have (I hope) given up on achieving the perfect figure.
Yet we still strive for things like:
the perfect comeback
the perfect score
the perfect job
the perfect mate. . .
And then we have the:
PERFECTIONISTS! We all know someone with an obsessive personality, who corrects minor details while you’re in the middle of telling your story. Then they realign the chairs you’ve straightened, and rescrub the dishes you painstakingly washed an hour ago.
Perfectionist and perfection are related but not interchangeable.
People can be perfectionists, but only God is Perfection
He is perfect in all things and without fault
He is always right
COIN FLIP. We, at our best, have a 50-50 chance of being right, and then there’s a chance that part of what we get “right” is, well . . . not right.
“Hey, look! A full moon.”
With the naked eye, the moon appears full; but ask an astronomer peering through a Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and he might differ with you.
VISCERAL PURSUIT. Something in us cries out for perfection. Since we ARE made in God’s image, could our souls ever cease this deep give-me-perfection groan? Perhaps not. Keep in mind God is most “at home” in Heaven—a believer’s true place of citizenship and a perfect home. Wherever He is, therein lies the answer to our deepest groaning.
PERFECTION AIN’T EVIL. But it’s often misguided or distorted. If we lose the desire or longing for excellence, is that a sign that our hearts have been damaged? A sign of spiritual apathy or indifference?
THE GREAT DISTORTION! The concept of perfection, when applied to God, has been warped. The God of Heaven is not merely perfect, as in, Mister high and mighty. Yes, He is high, and He is mighty. Perfectly.
But we, His followers, somehow translate that into “He’s perfect, and you’ll never be good enough,” as though humans are beyond repair and will get struck by a lightning bolt if we attempt to get close. Yet, His perfect desire is for intimacy. With us.
DIDN’T JESUS SAY, in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Beware when man quotes this out of context; the word translates as ‘be complete.’)
EXAMPLES OF WHERE WE OVERLOOK GOD’S PERFECTION:
When our kindness wears out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . His compassion stays consistent, unfailing
After our sympathy grows cold . . . . . . . . . . . . . .His mercy upon humanity is still complete
Where the model super mom wears out . . . . . . God operates in perfect gentleness and peace
If we are unfaithful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . God remains faithful
When we lose our temper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Holy Spirit can give us perfect self-control
As long as we have breath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . God’s patience never fails
IF WE DON’T STAND against the enemy’s mockery of perfection that seeks to distort and block human hearts from understanding God in His perfection, those we love will miss out on the best part.
GOD is Perfect Love
♥
(His) Love will never invoke fear.Perfect love expels fear,
particularly the fear of punishment.
The one who fears punishment
has not been completed through love.
(1 John 4:18, the Voice)
♥
I’m going to side with Perfection. How about you?
2 Comments
This is very well thought through. Thank you. It is not how I have put these pieces together. Great job on helping me map this.
Thanks Joyce. The revelation of His perfection certainly affected my perception of life. I’m glad you were blessed.