Perfect is not a real condition

Those who wait for perfect weather will never plant seeds; those who look at every cloud will never harvest crops. (Ecclesiastes 11:4)

Edmund Hillary said, "It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." We see the mountain and convince ourselves it is too hard to traverse. If we are ever to get to the other side, we need to get over ourselves and embrace the mountain! We could wait for all the conditions of our lives to be 'perfect' before we take the first step toward whatever it is that stands as your 'mountain' - but we all know 'perfect' is hard to find and short-lived. Some of us need to get over ourselves and begin to take the steps we know to take - not the ones we might take if conditions were 'right'. 

"Perfect" is a condition where all the parts conform ABSOLUTELY to the description or definition of some 'ideal' we have formed within our minds. Many times, our 'ideal' is not quite accurate - it has been created in our imagination and the list of all the 'requirements' are super-hard to meet. If we wait for 'perfect', the seeds will not be planted - the seeds of faith grow best when sown, not when they are saved up for the 'perfect' conditions to be met. We never harvest unless we sow the seeds. A farmer doesn't wait for the 'perfect' time to sow the seeds. He does so when he knows it is time to do so.

What mountain stands in your way? What have you imagined about this mountain? Yes, I did ask what you 'imagine' about that mountain. Why? Most of the time we know very little about the mountain before us - we have to create 'images' of what we believe it is we will need to overcome in order to conquer the mountain. What happens when we create these images? We begin to place 'conditions' on our heart - conditions that must be met before we begin to conquer the mountain. "Perfect" seldom happens, my friends. Truth be told, we just need to put aside all these imagined obstacles and begin to climb! Just sayin!

Not quite at 100% yet

I will freely admit that I don't have my life all put together, packaged up in a neat little 'perfect' package. In fact, there are frayed edges, places where the seams are coming apart, and some pretty messy 'junk drawers' in my life! How about you? Do you have a 'perfect' package going on? Or are you probably a little like me - still not quite as 'put together' as you'd like, but well on your way?

I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. (Philippians 3:14)

The real crux of it all is that we are 'well underway'. We aren't turning back and we aren't going to get off on tangents, going who knows where. The more we commit to this walk with Jesus, the more we realize that we aren't as 'put together' as we might have thought. The closer we draw into his presence, the more we realize there are just parts of us that are yet to be touched as deeply by his grace and presence as they need to be.

Anyone who puts forward the façade of having their life all 'put together' in a neat little 'perfect' package is really trying to pull the wool over your eyes. There is only one who walked out a perfect life on this earth and he went to the cross! It is sometimes viewed as a weakness to admit we don't have our lives as 'put together' as some might imagine it to be, but there is also something quite liberating in being truthful about how 'imperfectly' you live on occasion. 

I struggle with my thoughts - how about you? I let my thoughts go down a path of comparing myself to another - how about you? I get all wrapped up in what they have done or said, over-emphasizing the stuff I find fault with - how about you? I struggle with my motives at times - how about you? I sometimes want something I know I shouldn't pursue, but find it hard to let go of that internal motivation to pursue that wrong path - how about you?

You see, we aren't always going to have 'perfect' packages, are we? We are going to get stuff wrong. We are going to go against the grain on occasion. We are going to make incorrect choices or dwell way too long on stuff we should have let go of a long time ago. The good news is that once we set our feet on the path TOWARD right-living (righteousness), we are not walking out that path alone - Jesus and the Holy Spirit are right there with us - helping us get the 'package' a little closer to perfect with each step we take. Just keep walking, my friends - we won't get it right 100% of the time - but we are well underway. Just sayin!

The "perfect"

We go through life looking for the "perfect" object - whatever it may be.  We search for the "perfect mate" - like finding a compatible mate wasn't hard enough!  We seek the "perfect house" - like a roof over our heads and a reasonable amount of space to live within isn't enough to protect us from the elements.  We research the "perfect ride" - like running with decent gas mileage and getting us reliably from point A to point B isn't going to do it.  We are always seeking, seldom finding, and often frustrated because we search for what is impossible to find!  Perfection is inherent in one individual - God himself.  We cannot find the perfect "anything" unless that "anything" is really God himself!

The Lord gives perfect peace to those whose faith is firm. So always trust the Lord because he is forever our mighty rock. (Isaiah 26:3-4 CEV)

The thing about finding what is "perfect" is that it isn't "found" - it is received!  It is something which is "given" - not hunted down or stalked.  It isn't a matter of our own doing or finding, but of God's giving and grace!  God gives perfect peace to those whose faith is firm in him.  It is given, freely, without strings attached, not because we deserve it or have sought it out with all the precision of skilled shoppers, but because his love for us overflows in tremendous blessing in our lives.

I looked up some "synonyms" for "perfect".  A synonym is a word which comes close to having the same meaning or carries some aspect of the word we are considering.  Do you know what I found?  His peace is:

- Excellent.  Nothing exceeds his peace - nothing here on this earth or in heaven above has the capability of exceeding the excellence of his peace which is given to us freely.

- Foolproof.  Now this should excite every reader, my friends!  His peace goes beyond our foolish ways and surpasses the most ridiculous things we can concoct or manage to get ourselves into.

- Pure.  At first I didn't quite connect this with God's peace, but when we stop long enough to really consider this, it becomes kind of exciting to know his peace is not tainted in anyway with whatever this world sends our way - it remains completely and beautifully pure.  Maybe this is why it is so hard to disturb God's peace in our lives - because it cannot be tainted by the circumstances!

- Absolute.  No "thing" or "circumstance" or "individual" can supersede his peace.  It is complete, infinite, unlimited, and unconditional.  

- Impeccable.  It is precise.  There is  nothing wishy-washy about God's peace.  It is exact, on the spot, and without fail.  It is like nothing we can compare it to because it is incomparable to anything our finite minds can possibly imagine.

Now, his peace isn't worked for, or sought after.  It is a result of placing our faith on a solid rock - Jesus Christ and none other.  His peace isn't an after-thought, but a deliberate expression of how much he loves us and what his grace has done within our lives.  If you have ever stopped long enough to consider your sinfulness, you will probably recognize how much that "unsettles" us deep within - because we cannot find a way out of that sinful state in our own efforts or any amount of rule-keeping.  We need a way out and that way out is none other than Christ himself.  His grace is the thing which sets the soul free and a free soul is one able to embrace the "perfection" of God's peace.

Where we stand makes all the difference - standing upon anything other than the rock of faith makes for a pretty "unpeaceful" existence!  Just sayin!