I’ve been circling around the idea of perfection again this week. I turn at the corner but keep doubling back down the same road. I keep parking at the same curb, looking through the same window. God has been showing me so much as I look in. It is no surprise to this perfectionist; the results of every personality test I take. There is great strength in this attribute of mine but also great weakness. It holds my crazy, complex world together in many ways, but it also shows up to push me when I’m overwhelmed. We all have an internal motivator that is both friend and foe. We all have to discern the difference. We all must filter those attributes through the Word of God. We all must lay them at the feet of our Savior and allow His Spirit to lead us when those motivators try to take the lead.
I am very fond of perfection. I like a perfect car with no door dings. I love a new pair of shoes without scuffs. I like my house to have everything in its perfect place. Hair perfectly styled, fresh from the salon makes me happy. I appreciate toes newly painted with no chips. But I’ve realized that I’ve spent a large portion of my life trying to perfect many things that are un-perfect-able. The attribute has its place in many arenas but not all. There is no perfecting a relationship. There is no being a perfect parent. There is no perfecting a body. There is no perfect church. There is no perfection for the things that matter the most. The things that matter the most are messy and innately imperfect.
Even the way God chose to save us was imperfect by human standards. He chose the messiest way imaginable. Perfection came down and became human for us. Colossians says that we house perfection in us but not because of anything we do, not from our own perfecting. We house “the glorious riches of this mystery, Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Jesus is perfection. The passage goes on to say that “He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28). I’ve seen that word mature before. Some versions translate it as perfect. The perfect Jesus is perfecting our imperfections…better yet, maturing them. That sounds so much better.
God has a way of looking on the inside of a man or woman and seeing more than what’s on the surface. When David’s dad discounted him because of his appearance, Samuel said that God looks on the inside. We house Jesus on the inside of us. We also house our soul and spirit there, the most important parts of who we are. Mankind puts so much emphasis on what can be seen, on whether it is pleasing or not, and when they do, they miss the gold. The glory is inside. Anything that is perfect-able isn’t eternal. The messy stuff is the good stuff. A husband that still has eyes of love for a wife he’s seen almost every day for 26 years. A daughter that brings both a tornado in her path and a joy without compare. A teen aglow with new interest and hope. A young adult eager to explore life. The way of mothers and daughters. The laugh and challenge of a good friend. Messy wonder. Imperfect perfecting.
There is purpose in the imperfection. There is purpose in the messes. That’s what’s missing from other worldviews. Purpose is biblical. It is our birthright as heirs of heaven. This Christian life isn’t about outward perfection but inward redemption. Redemption is messy. But it’s full of purpose. It changes everything. It gives everything purpose. It makes even the imperfect look beautiful. Life is a long road of redemption; Jesus redeeming every imperfect thing and leaving it more mature and complete than it could have ever been. The world offers nothing that compares.