March 30, 2007

Good morning and joyous greetings to you my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus!
Do you ever make mistakes? Some of us seek to not make any mistakes, period. Is that a noble aim or a hopeless quest? In the world we are compelled by circumstance and the opinions of others to strive for perfection. If we don’t win a gold medal, we want our children to win one (or more). If we have no acting or singing talent, or lack the courage to use that talent, then we want our children to perform and become famous. We might enjoy a concert by a famous composer, conductor, and orchestra, but later wince at the misplayed notes of a 5th grade band concert. Perfection, we strive for it, seek it, and demand it of others, often while secretly hoping they will fail. What a terrible mistress is perfection! How far from it we all are, though we may not realize it or we may dwell on it too much. Jesus accepts us as we are. Trusting in Him includes allowing him to teach us to love our own self, and to bring us to him in his own perfect time.
This week I probably don’t have to reach very far or have any prophetic gift to guess that you made at least one mistake, somewhere or somehow, major or minor, you probably blew it at some point. Congratulations, there is nothing uniquely wrong with you and nothing that will make Jesus turn away from you. We all made some mistake; we may even need to ask forgiveness from a person and from God. Part of the peace that Jesus gives to us is in knowing that he loves us without reservation. As humans we often look at a person and start making imaginary changes to fit our equally imaginary standard of perfection. In Jesus there is none of that, only a perfect and abiding love for us. Let our Lord worry about what we will become in this life and in eternity.

May God bless and keep you this day!

Bucky