Perfection

The 119th Psalm, a “super-acrostic” of the Hebrew alphabet, is the longest Psalm with the most verses. Today the first half of the 96th verse of that Psalm caught my eye. It reads: “To all perfection I see a limit...”
I think of how often we inject the call for perfection into our conversation without any real scrutiny of what we are asking for. Women speak of finding the perfect dress. Brides dream of having the perfect wedding. Men refer to the perfect car. Homebuyers seek the perfect house. Weather forecasters speak of perfect weather. I think the Psalmist was helpful in pointing to the limitation of our own pursuits of perfection. Our best efforts will always require that we yield to certain limits. The most detailed planning will not prevent the unexpected. The most exhausting preparation at some point has to give way to the necessity of doing what the planning prepared for…and all its less than perfect outcomes, however few or many may result. But that brings us back to the 119th Psalm. The whole psalm is essentially focused upon the fact that God gives us the best guidance and the best insight and the best direction for our lives. His word stands the tests of time and practice. His truth endures forever. His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.
Perfection has always been a worthy aim…if we recognize our human limitations. At the same time…our imperfection is countered by our hope and trust in one whose love and mercy have made a way for our life to be full and abundant in Jesus Christ. In him, perfection abounds. In him, we discover the perfection of God and God’s deliverance from sin as we place our faith and trust in Him…the one who came to save us.
As the apostle Paul wrote, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We have our limits…and “the wage of sin is death”. As long as we pursue our own way…we flounder and the consequences are the outcomes of pride and intentional rejection of God’s way.
Yet God’s invitation is to repent of sin…to repent of the idolatry that puts something or someone or even our self in the place of God. It is a willingness to acknowledge our sin and to seek our Savior, Jesus Christ.
A story is told that Amish women in making their beautiful and often highly detailed quilts intentionally miss a stitch, to remind themselves that “nothing is perfect” apart from the perfection of God. I think the Psalmist had the same idea. The wonderful good news is that in the provision of God, we can put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ and know the abundant life that comes from sharing in His perfection.

Moonwalk Anniversary

Forty years ago today, astronaut Neil Armstrong first walked on the lunar surface. It was an astounding feat of engineering and scientific effort, but it was also the culmination of countless days and hours of deliberate, intentional planning, evaluation, design, and experimentation. And the source of all these efforts began with a challenge, a goal, an aim set forth to inspire the best minds and best dreams to be engaged in the pursuit of learning.

As the Psalmist wrote so long ago, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” Every move humankind has made into the cosmos has reaffirmed that statement. The infinite details revealed in the exploration of time and space continue to escalate our comprehension of God’s profound and awesome creation. The wonder of our ever growing awareness of the universe is that we continue to be directed by both the physics and mathematics demonstrated in our study and exploration to the intentionally unscientific declaration…”In the beginning God…”

Such is a perspective of faith and yet for many a declaration of experience. The most intense study of creation is only a testimony of the creator…it declares the glory of God…it is a manifestation of His handiwork. For all of our labors to extend our reach into the heavens, we will be ever able to marvel at the wonder of God’s gifts to us all.
Every ocean tide, every array of color in the sunset, every glow of brilliance from the night sky…should cause us to give thanks. God has blessed us. God has sustained us.
God has called us to abundant life in the joy of knowing our hope is in Him.

In the Interest of Life

One of the greatest needs of our time is for a renewed respect for human life. Many individuals seem to be mentally dulled to both the wonder and miracle of life itself. We can observe the fragility of life at every hand, but we also can acknowledge the strength of life in every heartbeat…every breath. What seems to be present, however, is a sense of invulnerability displayed by some…as though the rules of physics did not need to apply to their own physical walk and movement. Others seem to wish to ignore gravity… or the laws of inertia…or the biological realities of physical death caused by poison ingestion. These kinds of ignorances frequently destroy otherwise healthy, generally capable, and even intelligent persons. Some part of the problem precipitates from the over stimulation of simulation games and visually stimulated sequences of digitally modified actions. In other words…people watch physically impossible movements and actions portrayed by modifications electronically recorded and mentally presume such action is possible. For a generation past, to see a cartoon coyote continuously smashed by large rocks dropped from high places was a humorous conclusion, but to see the portrayal of what appears to be live human beings being repeatedly blown up and restored by the reset button causes a mental lapse in comprehending the limits of human physical capacity. We observe violent acts toward human characters at astounding rates in drama, movies, and television programming. We see an equally disturbing rise in destructive behaviors among children and teens that most often are not well supervised in the selection of their video preferences. Abusive behaviors are often reflected in song lyrics and music video portrayals of characters. Murder, rape, drug use and assault are often the subject of what is sold as entertainment
to the masses. Many fill their hours with such and wonder why they feel depressed, disturbed, and fearful. A new appreciation for life is capable of being born within us as we give attention to the love God has for each of us. In His wisdom, he guides us to the light and truth of his word to us, to the understanding of his purpose for our days, and to a comprehension of his life giving presence as our Lord and Savior. Welcome Jesus as your instructor for living well…living joyfully…and living in the love of God.

Seeking Justice

I heard the story once of a judge who was about to pass sentence. The convicted felon loudly shouted and said, ” Judge, I want justice. I want justice. I want justice.” The judge responded. “ Sir, you are receiving justice…what you should be asking for is mercy. “
The desire for justice is certainly a key element of our common sharing of life together. Justice assumes respect for one another. Justice assumes a valuing of all that is good and right and fair. Justice is conscious of matters of physical or mental incapacity, but it does not ignore patterns of behavior that are destructive to persons and community. The imposing figure of Justice depicted in many courtrooms shows Justice as blind in respect to those elements of external differences that might otherwise divide loyalties, or create partialities or partisan decisions as persons seek remedy for grievances. At the same time, Justice listens. Justice seeks truth. Justice hears witnesses to address the circumstances and events involved.
The context of Justice however is community. Community is seldom blind to persons and personalities, actions and behaviors. At the same time community has the capacity to inspire justice or to subvert it. Community defines acceptable parameters of behavior and activities deemed appropriate for the shared marketplace or in respect to human behaviors, precluding private acts of violence or destructiveness that endanger or threaten. Community determines the effectiveness of Justice in her efforts to provide a level of righteousness that allows for peaceful coexistence, while at the same time injecting the elements of mercy and grace that allow us to be redemptive in our flawed human imperfection.
Our flaws lie largely in what the Apostle Paul referred to as “the sin, which so easily besets us.” Sin undermines our pursuit of justice and our ability to uphold it socially. The nature of our times seems to have adopted a “lowest common denominator” definition of what is acceptable and the bar keeps falling. Not until we aspire to the calling of God and comprehend the righteousness of his providing will we know the experience of justice in its truest blessing and at the same time experience mercy as only God has offered us.
The next time you are in the mood for Justice, perhaps you should think again and turn to God and pray: “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” That kind of praying could not only remedy Justice’s blindness, but could open the windows of heaven to allow you to see the light of God’s love through Jesus Christ. That experience could change you forever.