Friday, March 16, 2018

Day 262 - Seeing Perfection

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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"But love isn’t about finding or attaining perfection. It is about seeing perfection through God’s eyes."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 82.

Oh if we could live that quote more fully in our lives everyday. It is when I'm viewing things through the eyes of God that perfection in this world is something I can attain to. It is also something that I start to see in all of us who are far from perfect. Seeing this world as God does gives me the perspective I need to begin living the fullness of what I think God is teaching me a victor's life is suppose to look like. 

We spend so much time trying to define, create and maintain some level of perfection. What a total and absolute waste of time. First of all, perfection cannot ever be attained as long as we live on this earth. Perfection just isn't possible, let alone sustainable. It is only when we start to see things as God does that the ability to catch glimpses of perfection come our way. 

Today's Bible reading reminds of the struggle with perfection we face in this world. 

I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself. Of course, my friends, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead. So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God's call through Christ Jesus to the life above. All of us who are spiritually mature should have this same attitude. But if some of you have a different attitude, God will make this clear to you. Philippians 3:12-15 (GNT)

I have met few people who, I might be tempted to compare to the level of performance Paul applied in his walk with God. Maybe someone like Billy Graham is someone of the caliber of Paul when it comes to their faith and living out their faith like Paul did. The rest of us pale by comparison! 

How does that last statement make you feel about yourself? For many of us, realizing that we are a poor comparison when it comes to someone else is such a hard thing for us to hear. That kind of statement makes me want to double down on my efforts to try and be better at "doing" so my "being" can be seen in a better light. That's a perspective on perfection that will literally kill our ability to live like the victor God has called us to live. 

Paul and Dr. Graham would never even think themselves as being perfect. Both of these great men would look at the sum of their lives and still have a twinge of guilt that they didn't do enough. That blows me away! How could a man like Paul, whose writings have inspired and changed the life of billions of people think that he didn't do enough? How could a man like Dr. Graham, who personally spoke to over 200 million people in live events (that doesn't include those who heard Dr. Graham on the radio or saw him on the TV), ever think His life fell short? 

I can tell you how they can think that way. Their lives did fall short. They weren't perfect. Neither are you and neither am I. God is perfect. The only way we can get the twinge of guilt out of our lives, as I know Dr. Graham did and I'm sure Paul was able to do is to see perfection through the eyes of the God that made us. 

God knows we aren't perfect. God knows that our efforts will always fall short. Why do you think He took such drastic measures to make a way for us. Do you think that offering up His only son to make a pathway in our imperfection for a perfect relationship with Him to be possible was an easy thing to do. How would you feel if the only way to make something important happen in your life was to take similar steps? Don't you know the anguish God must have felt at making that kind of painful decision. 

What makes it possible for God to make such a decision? It is the perfection that comes from a perfect love. That's our only hope at attaining to and maintaining a life of perfection. Trying to make perfection happen through our doing is such a victim thinking strategy. Trying to maintain perfection through our efforts is such a victimizing endeavor. Perfection is only possible as we "be" the victors God made us to be. 

Isn't it time to get you vision checked? Don't you want to see things as perfectly as God does? I believe that is all possible as we let what God says about us rule in our lives. It is when we believe in who we are that what we do will become more of the application of perfection in our lives. Let your day be all about being perfect. Don't expect that you will attain to that perfection on your own. Let God show you how perfection is being lived out in all you do as you let your victor status be the foundation of all you put your hand to today.

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