May 23

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” —JOHN 3:17

I’m glad that God is not a perfectionist. God is perfect – but He is not a perfectionist. Perfectionism demands that everything be right. This is dangerous. I personally think that perfectionism is a bad attribute. Perfectionists are usually dissatisfied, unhappy, miserable and critical, but that’s not at all like God. God’s perfection deals with realism and He works in our sin.

I once thought that God could not co-exist with sin. The reality is that Jesus was made sin, and works with our sin in all situations. Abraham had strayed from God and stopped short of the land God wanted to show Him, settling for years in the lush city of Haran where He became prosperous. In Egypt, he had lied about his wife being his sister, allowed her to be with Pharaoh, and became even wealthier. Moses had killed a man and buried his body in the sand. David was a man after God’s own heart and produced a messy family. One son raped a half sister; one murdered another; another tried to steal the throne. The Bible doesn’t whitewash the stories. God’s workshop is our fallen and broken world.

Matthew records Jesus having dinner with many tax collectors and sinners. Tax collectors were considered the worst offenders, and along with other sinners, Jesus ate with them and His disciples. This greatly perturbed the Pharisees, and they asked, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Upon hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick….. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:12-13).

We don’t have to stand on high moral ground before we come to Jesus. We can be deeply entrenched in our sin; whether addictions, promiscuity, abusiveness or criminal activity, it is irrelevant. God deals with us as we are. What He responds to is honesty and humility, which doesn’t cover things up, but leaves ourselves open before Him. There He delights to do His business of making us like His Son. Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). That is you and me - in all our sin, brokenness and failure.

God’s not looking for perfection – He’s looking for an honest heart seeking Him.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for accepting me just as I am and forgiving my sin. I ask that You keep me humble and honest before You, and that You continue your good work in me. Thank You, Lord.

TO REFLECT UPON: Is the humility and honesty in which I first came to Christ just as prevalent in my relationship with Him today?