Perfectly Imperfect
“But you have given us one another in all shapes and sizes. We do not fit together all that well, but we pray the puzzles of our lives may please you and entertain you, so that in the end we add up to be your kingdom.” – Stanley Hauerwas
We are an unusual lot, we humans. Perhaps even more to the point, we are an unusual lot, we Jesus followers.
For starters, our stated devotion and desire is to lead lives that are ultimately given over to something—someONE—not our own. If it were just that, it would be enough to earn you and me the moniker of 1 Peter 2:9: We are a peculiar people. By the way, that is a compliment! God has chosen to set you apart. He has made you different and distinct. He has done so not to isolate or alienate you—far from it! He has done so that you might be deemed worthy—under the covering provided by His son—to be called His child. Your peculiarity is an ultimate elevation of your worth rather than the socially pungent peculiarity that might first come to your mind.
Even so, peculiar is peculiar, and it comes with its challenges!
But it is not just that you and I are peculiar. It is that we are tasked—yes, even commanded (see Mk. 12:30-31)—with giving ourselves for each other. In one breath, God commands you to love Him with all of you, and in the next breath, He commands you—a peculiar person—to prioritize and love the peculiar people around you.
It would be challenging enough to be tasked with being peculiar. But how are you to manage this layer? How are you to faithfully steward and shoulder this command to fit together with fellow Jesus followers when it is very clear the fit is far less than perfect? How is that even possible?
The simple-yet-confounding answer is plainly given in John 15:12-14: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”
In other words, “I know the fit is imperfect, but do it anyway, because I did it for you, and in doing it for others you will know more of me!”
My friend, you have rough edges. So do I. We don’t fit together all that well. In fact, it is not uncommon for us to annoy and aggravate each other. But Jesus gave his very life for our imperfect and peculiar beings. It was a free gift of mercy and salvation, but it is also an invitation for you and me to follow His example. We, too, are to lay down our lives for each other. We do it not because it comes naturally or fits perfectly, but rather because it is what Jesus did and what He has asked of us.
The fit is far from perfect. And yet, it is perfectly imperfect. There is no greater love, and it is yours today.
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.