Perfection

We all make mistakes. It is easy to assume that all Christians, in their journey as disciples and followers of Jesus, are striving to be perfect, and therefore they do nothing wrong. This is something I myself have faced during my arguably short time of being a Christian. Are you allowed to say that? Is that a Godly thing to do? I thought you were supposed to be perfect, so why are you angry? Isn’t this murder scene inappropriate for you to watch?
I admit that some questions are in fact valid, and can simply be asked out of genuine curiosity and desire for a better understanding of faith. But what really can be disheartening is when others query your motives because it is their motive to extinguish your happiness, your goal to be the good person that you are trying to be, and your constant efforts to be authentic in Christ.

As followers of Jesus, we should be constantly looking at ourselves and asking if we are really reflecting the traits and behaviour of a good person in the eyes of God, and honestly doing the utmost that we can to represent what we stand for and what our hearts believe in. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we can get it right every time, and sometimes that can be difficult, especially in such a secularist society, but thankfully we do have the Bible to make reference of to steady our moral compass. It’s vitally important to remember that although we were all made in the image of God, no one is perfect. Therefore, don’t allow yourself to be beaten up over your mistakes or flaws, because God is completely aware of those imperfections (and yet He still loves us – so awesome!). I find great encouragement from this verse in Joshua:

Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. – 1:9

The idea that we all must strive for perfection should not be taken completely literally – yes, part of our journey on God’s path set out for us is to be in pursuit of perfection, but only in Him, not to create an obsession out of it.
According to the dictionary, perfection is defined in three ways – the state or quality of being perfect, a person or thing considered to be perfect, and the action or process of improving something until it is faultless.
A materialistic (and popular) idea is that one must become perfect in appearance and possession. However, I feel that what we as Christians need to come to terms with is that instead of striving for that perfection, we should strive for the last definition: the process of improving something until it is faultless. That is because I believe that our lives should define that process of refining ourselves in God’s glory and our love for Him, with our faultlessness only occurring when we reach Heaven. We should strive to be a reflection of God’s creation and image, but only a reflection, not the end result. Not on this earth anyway.

Conclusively, as long as what you do, say and what you stand for are in God’s name and for His glory, then it is absolutely okay – and necessary – to be imperfect.

A stable foundation

By human nature, we forget. 

Sometimes what we fail to remember can lead us into difficult situations, leaving us feeling panic-stricken and vulnerable. Sometimes everything reaches such a devastation that it appears to be crumbling to the ground in a huge pile of rubble at our very feet, and we watch the walls and solid foundations we so firmly built over our lifetime disintegrate. Fragments of careers, opportunities, relationships, routines, all scattered across the ground; what are you to do now? 

That is a very good question.

There are two clear options; either fall with them, or build them back up, starting from scratch. And by human nature, we have a beautifully strong determination to not give in and to fight for our survival, which is an intentional quality that our creator gave to us, knowing that sometimes, everything changes and you have to start all over again. Loss of identity becomes apparent after a while, and inside of yourself it can feel almost homeless. Now where can a vulnerable and pained soul seek refuge? 

All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights. For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see. – psalm 36:7-9

For new foundations to be built, the old must be completely removed for an even surface; but this time around, you have the creator of heaven and earth to guide you. Now this’ll be interesting. You may wonder, how do you successfully build your wall back up again without it coming crashing down? The strongest element I believe in is SCRIPTURE. The whole How-to guide for life is literally contained within one book. It can fit inside the palm of your hand. It can go with you everywhere: on the train, beside your bed, at work, on a beach in Hawaii. What is even better is when the truth is engraved into your mind and you can really start living and breathing what God has written. Because through people like us, He wrote it, and it’s right there in black and white. Hallelujah! Through God we can find our true selves, and build the strongest of foundations to live upon, to reach the end goal; Heaven. 

By human nature, we forget.

But don’t forget to read scripture. Without it our foundations will become unstable and we will lose sight of God, Our Father, who wrote it all down for us. Just to make life a little easier.