I was listening to my home church's online message a few days ago when Pastor Joel said this quote. Out of the whole message, this struck me the most because it hit home.
I am a Type A perfectionist. Being in college, I notice most people are. At times this is extremely beneficial, but it can also cripple and paralyze us. Personally, I fear imperfection so much that I am scared to even try time and time again. Striving for perfection does have its benefits, but Satan can also use it to knock you on the ground.
After that quote, I thought to myself...what does the Bible say about perfection, beyond just what I've heard from Sunday school?
Paul talks about perfection in Philippians: "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." Philippians 3:12
This verse is freeing. It speaks to the fact that life is imperfection in and of itself; we will never obtain flawlessness. Daily, we are faced with falling short. Grades, relationships, money, time...there's never enough of anything. We deal with the idea of infinity: reaching, but never quite making it.
So we'll never "make it". How do we deal with it then?
Just like the verse says, we press toward Jesus. Christ wants us, in all our imperfections and false senses of fulfillment. He wants my struggle, my shortcomings, and my failure. He took hold of every part of us, and solely asks that we do the same.
My perfectionism makes my relationship with Jesus harder. It makes college more difficult, and my goals scare me. But, God made me this way for a reason. And, every time I fall short He uses it to teach me how to fully rely on Him.
If you don't feel good enough for God, I'm here to tell you we aren't. We are imperfect, sinners, and not worthy of His love. That's what makes His grace amazing; He wants it all. He's passionate for your weakness, and loves every single broken piece. I know it's not easy, but He wants us to turn to Him in the times we are lost, frustrated, and torn by our shortcomings.
We are beyond blessed to serve a God "who makes everything holy and whole" (1 Thessalonians 5:23) and will do so if we let Him. Granted we will never be perfect until we are actually with Him, but letting God be the power in our weakness is the closest picture to perfection we can obtain.You are not useless to His kingdom. Far from it. How can we, in our human minds, ever fully understand the idea of perfection or judge ourselves as imperfect? Who are we to say God can't use us? We are the works of God, and He created us just as we are. In His eyes, we are perfect. He can use anyone, and loves us all. Don't be afraid of failing in furthering His kingdom. God has every day of your life written and ordained, before any have come to be (Psalm 139:16).
Something interesting I found when searching "perfection" in the Thesaurus is that it is synonymous with "improvement". Even Webster knows perfection is unattainable! All God asks us is that we work to better ourselves, striving to follow Him. We truly are precious in His sight, and that is liberating.
We are imperfect people serving a perfect God.
DTI
