I think too often as Christians, we expect perfection from each other, and even from ourselves. This way of thinking sets one up for extreme failure and a life that is not authentic. We are all in a state of growth. We as Christians are pilgrims on a journey of walking with the One whom we love, and want to be like. We stumble. We often fall flat. When we do, the Perfected One, Jesus, is right along side us, waiting to hear from us that we need His help, reaching out His hand to help us up, and reaching out His other hand offering grace and forgiveness. We will not be perfect until we get to Heaven, yet, when we accept His hand of grace and forgiveness, He makes us whole, pure, blameless. What a concept!
How beautiful would it be if we chose to see each other in that light? To see each other in the process of being perfected, continuously being made new. To see each other as ones whom the God of the Universe thinks the world of, so much so that He came to our world to make a way for us to become like Him, so we could spend eternity with Him when we leave. I think we would be much more prone to forgive, to bear each others burdens, to say the words “I’m sorry,” to speak the truth gently in love, to look at ourselves instead of pointing a finger, to just love one another because we are all on our own pilgrimage, walking this treacherous path of life. What if we trusted Jesus with the ones we loved, trusted Him to continue the good work He has started, trusted Him to change their hearts and to reveal to them how He wants them to walk? What if we kept our eyes on our own path, making sure we are walking it with our hands clasped to the One who leads? How many times are we walking along, but let go of His hand to point with a finger of accusation at another pilgrim? We let go, distracted by someone else’s journey and our own pride, and stumble. Or we let go, and cause another to fall, sometimes on purpose because they may have pushed you in the past and caused pain. How many times do we just simply turn to our Friend of power who is holding our hand and ask Him to help our fellow pilgrims? He’s right there, next to us, waiting for us to simply ask, to simply pray. Instead, we pridefully think our limited brains know better, so we let go to point out those who are stumbling, all the while not realizing we are up to our chins in muck ourselves.
Why do we expect perfection from each other and from ourselves? How can we not offer forgiveness to one another or accept the forgiveness He offers us? How dare we think less of each other, when this amazing God has reached out His hand to each one of us, no matter who we are, what we have done, how much money we make, what color our skin is, no matter how far we have fallen. We are ALL made by Him, and He is reaching out to each one of us offering Himself, offering an eternity of TRUE perfection with Him, at the end of this journey.
