I was in the middle of a relationship break up. It was messy and confusing and painful. I had tried so hard to be a good friend, but the other person thought I had failed them. I felt angry; maybe I had made mistakes, but weren’t my good intentions enough? Why did I have to be perfect in order to have friends? In the midst of my bitterness and confusion I turned my thoughts to my Lord.
A soothing, peaceful, and life-giving thought came to mind:
It is better to be loved than to be perfect.
God did not require me to be perfect.
This frustration that I felt, that my imperfection was separating me from my earthly companion, melted as I turned my heart towards God. I was no longer separated from Him by my inability to be perfect. Jesus had made a way.
It is better to be loved than to be perfect.
I have always been a mess. I never have “gotten my stuff together.” So when I came to follow Christ, I was received only on the basis of God’s love for me, not because I had met some minimal requirements of goodness or perfection. The Bible teaches that God loved me when I was a sinner- when I was God’s enemy- and that Jesus gave Himself up for me and died on the cross… well, that means our relationship is not based on some assumption that I am somehow going to always do the right thing. God knows me better than I know myself… He brought me into His Kingdom based on love. A powerful, holy kind of love that is long-lasting, strong… unfailing.
God loves because He is God and the source of love. He has chosen to love me and you, and He will not stop loving us because His love depends on Him and not what we do. He is so much bigger than us or what we do. Heaven and Earth can pass away and God will still be loving us. The sun may cease to shine and God will still be loving us. You can fail, and God will still be loving you.
It is better to be loved than to be perfect.
How to "be loved” instead of striving to be perfect?
For some of us this very difficult. Usually a really good failure once in a while will remind me that I am not perfect, though I would like to be; and that brings me back to the foot of the cross and I remember that God’s unconditional and undeserved love – His mercy- is the basis of our relationship… not my great and impressive deeds.
And man, I want to do great and impressive things!
I want to pay God back for saving me. I don’t want to owe Him anything.
I want Him to realize it was a good idea to save me – to somehow make it “worth His while”….
I want to not be so needy, to have some control…
But the only way to God is through Jesus… admitting we were wrong, that we were helpless, that we were “imperfect…” and to accept this gift of love. No one has ever been found righteous by being “perfect,” but only on the basis of accepting the gift of Christ. (Galatians 2:16, Romans 3:20)
The most wonderful part is, once we accept that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ… we are safe! Our relationship with God is secure because it depends on His love and faithfulness, not our own! He will not let go of us, because He is both willing and able to keep us from falling. (Jude 1)
It is better to be loved than to be perfect.
My ego may want to be perfect and impressive, but my mind knows that I will fail again as I have in the past, and my heart is secure knowing it is far better to be loved than to be perfect.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 (NIV)
This article is part of the Life Lessons Series
Copyright 2010 Jeri Howe
A soothing, peaceful, and life-giving thought came to mind:
It is better to be loved than to be perfect.
God did not require me to be perfect.
This frustration that I felt, that my imperfection was separating me from my earthly companion, melted as I turned my heart towards God. I was no longer separated from Him by my inability to be perfect. Jesus had made a way.
It is better to be loved than to be perfect.
I have always been a mess. I never have “gotten my stuff together.” So when I came to follow Christ, I was received only on the basis of God’s love for me, not because I had met some minimal requirements of goodness or perfection. The Bible teaches that God loved me when I was a sinner- when I was God’s enemy- and that Jesus gave Himself up for me and died on the cross… well, that means our relationship is not based on some assumption that I am somehow going to always do the right thing. God knows me better than I know myself… He brought me into His Kingdom based on love. A powerful, holy kind of love that is long-lasting, strong… unfailing.
God loves because He is God and the source of love. He has chosen to love me and you, and He will not stop loving us because His love depends on Him and not what we do. He is so much bigger than us or what we do. Heaven and Earth can pass away and God will still be loving us. The sun may cease to shine and God will still be loving us. You can fail, and God will still be loving you.
It is better to be loved than to be perfect.
How to "be loved” instead of striving to be perfect?
For some of us this very difficult. Usually a really good failure once in a while will remind me that I am not perfect, though I would like to be; and that brings me back to the foot of the cross and I remember that God’s unconditional and undeserved love – His mercy- is the basis of our relationship… not my great and impressive deeds.
And man, I want to do great and impressive things!
I want to pay God back for saving me. I don’t want to owe Him anything.
I want Him to realize it was a good idea to save me – to somehow make it “worth His while”….
I want to not be so needy, to have some control…
But the only way to God is through Jesus… admitting we were wrong, that we were helpless, that we were “imperfect…” and to accept this gift of love. No one has ever been found righteous by being “perfect,” but only on the basis of accepting the gift of Christ. (Galatians 2:16, Romans 3:20)
The most wonderful part is, once we accept that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ… we are safe! Our relationship with God is secure because it depends on His love and faithfulness, not our own! He will not let go of us, because He is both willing and able to keep us from falling. (Jude 1)
It is better to be loved than to be perfect.
My ego may want to be perfect and impressive, but my mind knows that I will fail again as I have in the past, and my heart is secure knowing it is far better to be loved than to be perfect.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 (NIV)
This article is part of the Life Lessons Series
Copyright 2010 Jeri Howe
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