Perfectly acceptable

Some days I long to be perfect.  Not so I can be better than other people (and even thinking like that would reveal pride, an imperfection!), but because it grieves me so much to disappoint others.  When that happens, and my [often] deep flaws are revealed to people, I find myself wanting to withdraw into a place of solitude (i.e. "run and hide"!), where I can try to avoid making mistakes.

Unfortunately that's not possible.  Even hiding away can hurt people that love you!  And so continues walking the fine line of being yourself, being real, and being aware of how you impact the people around you.

I try to remember that relationships, with all their mess, confusion and chaos are God's will for our lives.  The tension in our relationships is an opportunity for growth in "how will I respond?"  (And nowhere is this more evident than in  parenting - can I get an "Amen"?!!!)

On my way to work this morning my mind kept returning to something Liz Curtis-Higgs talked about at the conference. 

Her primary focus was Ruth, a Moabitess.  For those of you who aren't familiar with the Moabs (as I wasn't) they are descended from Lot, who as you may recall was involved in the whole Sodom & Gomorrah scandal (read Genesis 18 onwards).  So, being a Moabitess, was not something to brag about, at least not around Israel.

But Liz also referenced a few other women in the Bible, namely...

• Tamar: tricked her father-in-law to getting her pregnant, which was in desperation, but still bad.  (read Genesis 38)
• Rahab: was a prostitute, but she protected God's people and was spared the fate of the rest of her people (death) and was welcomed into Israel.  (read Joshua 2)
• Bathsheba ("Uriah's wife"): She slept with King David while her husband was at war.  David later had her husband killed to try and cover-up his indiscretion. (read 2 Samuel 11)
• Mary: was a virgin when she became pregnant with Jesus Christ, but to the people around her, that was probably not what they thought!  Even Joseph needed to be told by an angel not to condemn her. (read Matthew 1)

What is significant about this group of women?  They are the only women who were named in the lineage of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1).  Each one of them would likely be would discounted them from our minds as suitable women to be related to Jesus Christ, Son of God.  Whether personally or through their "upbringing" they were socially questionable choices.  But not in God's mind.  He is in the business of redeeming the broken, the guilty, the flawed, and giving them new hope and a future.  (The more broken, the more glory they bring to God.)

If God can bring about a spiritual and moral rebirth in these women, you need to know that he can do that in you, and I, no matter how imperfect we are.

It is by God's grace, in providing a substitute to take our place on the day of judgement - the only perfect person, that we become acceptable to God.  We don't become perfect when we put our faith in Jesus as our Savior, but we join God's family, full of other imperfect, but faithful individuals who allow God to show his redeeming work in our lives.

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Phillipians 1:6

So, while I'm still a work in progress please be patient with me!