The personal quote cited in today’s picture is a true testament near and dear to my heart.
I have been building homes for over 20+ years and when it’s time for me to set expectations with respect to the differences between perfection and quality one of the things I always find myself saying is, “Until you find me a perfect tree, I can’t build you a perfect home, so expect quality not perfection.”
There is no such thing as a perfect home and there is no such thing as a perfect Christian; at least not on this side of heaven.
One of the biggest lies Satan can tell you is that perfect spirituality can be achieved — it can’t.
Let’s be clear:
There’s no perfect denomination.
There’s no perfect church.
There’s no perfect pastor.
There’s no perfect congregation size.
There’s no perfect style of worship.
There’s no perfect theology.
There’s no perfect children’s ministry curriculum.
There’s no perfect youth ministry philosophy.
There’s no perfect sermon formula.
There’s no perfect service sequence.
There’s no perfect leadership structure.
Inevitably, a desire for spiritual perfection leads to legalism, elitism, judgment, bigotry, fear, shame, guilt, alienation, exclusivism, and hatred. It becomes a destructive form of idolatry. It can also lead to a deep sense of worthlessness, hopelessness, anxiety, and burnout.
It’s time for Christians to accept grace, complexity, and the idea that we don’t know everything — and never will. Embrace the freedom of Christ! Going one step further, we must admit that we’ve often gotten it very, very wrong.
Christians have hurt people. Individuals, communities, churches, organizations, and institutions have done horrible things in the name of Christ.
It’s OK to admit this. The fact that Christianity isn’t perfect doesn’t negate truth — it actually admits it, reveals it, and helps us accept reality.
And although there’s no perfect Christianity, and no perfect Christian, there is a perfect God. This is our passionate hope: Jesus is perfect! This is a wonderful truth Christians must wholly embrace. Christ wants our identity to rest solely in His perfection — not our religious or spiritual imperfection.
4GIVEN 