In my last blog, “Recovering Well”, I wrote about the experience of hearing an amazing violinist perform Bach. Perfect, almost. Watching how she recovered from the “almost” was almost as remarkable as the performance itself. A while back, I also wrote a blog about excellence and how excellence can easily become its own altar and demand its own worship. The striving for excellence can create in us a striving for the impossible product of perfection.
Perfection is an eternal realization (1Corinthians 13:9-12 ), not temporal. This is hard for those of us who are motivated, even bound, by the twin towers of idealism and perfectionism. Anything short of the ideal, even a biblical ideal, is met with disillusionment and a crippling sense of failure. If it can’t be perfect, why even try?
And yet, the central message of the gospel is about The Provision for our lack and forgiveness for our pre-ordained mistakes. Are we FREE ENOUGH to make a mistake? Do we both appreciate and apprehend the work of the cross so completely as not to fear our faults and inevitable failings? Do we understand both His grace and His mercy to the extent that we are free enough to make mistakes? It is the freedom to fail that ultimately releases in us the power to succeed. The great accomplishments of humanity bear witness to this statement.
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
Jim Critcher is the Executive Pastor of GCC. Jim is a recognized prophetic voice and ministers prophetically across the United States and internationally as part of the leadership team of Every Nation Ministries. Follow him on Twitter @jimcritcher and at The Listening Room.