He is a God of the imperfect

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

-Romans 5:8

Sometimes I feel pressurized to be perfect. I feel like I have to be an angel (figuratively) in order to please God because my downfalls will disappoint Him. Imagine fighting to be something that you know you can never be? Imagine a lion striving to be a hippo – the lion can try all it wants but it will never become a hippo. I am a sinner and that will never change. I was born a sinner and I will die a sinner.

Let’s take a look at the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18:9-14.

⁹Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ ¹³And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

We have a Pharisee who uplifts himself and believes that he is perfect and has no faults. He thinks of himself as righteous which can somewhat be justified by the fact that Pharisees obeyed the Jewish Law to the t. Then we have a tax collector, who recognizes his imperfection. Tax collectors, in contrast to Pharisees, were extremely disliked.

The Pharisee makes two huge mistakes in the above scenario. Firstly, he puts himself above another human being, meaning he looks down on another person. Secondly, it’s almost as if he puts himself up to God’s level, by implying that he is infallible. Sometimes, I try to be a Pharisee. I compare myself to other people and then I put myself up on a pedestal. Sometimes I think I am perfect. But then God reminds me that I am a sinner – an imperfect human being. If I were perfect, I would not need God, right? God justified the tax collector because he recognized that he was a sinner and that he needed God. The “perfect” Pharisee, who exalted himself, was left unjustified.

I want to strive to be like the tax collector. I want to always remember to acknowledge my sin and realize that I need God in my life because sometimes I forget that God loves me with all my failures and imperfections. I pray that you will remember that He is not a God who lifts up the “perfect”. He is a God who justifies sinners. He is a God who exalts the humble.

God truly loves you.

With love,

Mandile.