GraceFox

A senior gentleman from our church recently said, “My memory is like Teflon. Nothing sticks!” I howled with laughter because I could relate. How about you? Seems that, while age advances, one’s memory retreats. Other changes take place, too—some more obvious than others. We leak and creak. We wrinkle and sag. Physically, we’re far from perfect.

Spiritually, we’re far from perfect, too. We lose our temper. We become offended when we feel our rights are violated. We say things we shouldn’t. We struggle with unforgiveness, envy, and lust. We make choices based on emotion rather than truth. Apart from Christ, we’d be a sorry mess—flawed beyond redemption.

Believe it or not, no one’s perfect. That reality could discourage us, but let’s not allow it to do so. The enemy of our souls loves to remind us of our flaws by hissing accusations such as “You keep messin’ up! You’re such a loser! You’re beyond hope, buddy,” but let’s refuse to listen. At the same time, let’s also be cautious not to excuse sin with a flippant, “Oh well, no one’s perfect” attitude.

Instead, let’s do as Paul did. He acknowledged that he wasn’t perfect, but he would do his best to try, knowing that someday perfection would be his. He said, “I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it (perfection), but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us” (Philippians 3:12-14).

My guess is that your imperfections will show up somewhere this week. I don’t have to guess about mine—I KNOW they’ll make an appearance at some point and time. But I also know this: someday, when I reach heaven, I’ll be rid of those pesky imperfections. No more spiritual flaws. And guess what? No more physical flaws, either. I can’t wait! How about you?

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