Sermons
A Message by the Rev. Harvey G. Throop
Palisades Presbyterian Church
San Diego, California
August 23, 2009
Living With Our Imperfections
(2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
“But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.'"
(2 Corinthians 12:9)!
One of the greatest frustrations we all experience is that of having to live with imperfections. None of us is perfect, and so there isn't a one of us who doesn't have to put up with at least some kinds of imperfections as we live out our lives. We may have to wear glasses, hearing aids or dental bridges. Our physician may have us on some prescribed drug to compensate for some imperfection in our body chemistry. We may not be able to make our body do everything we want it to do. Just think how much young people and adults spend to cover up the imperfections of skin or how much some folks spend on liposuction to remove excess fatty tissue . We all have some imperfections we can do nothing about except to be determined to live with them.
We all have certain mental imperfections. We forget names and places. Some facts and formulas we can't seem to get through our heads. We don't always comprehend or absorb the things we read. Sometimes we get weary and depressed. We become impatient and sometimes our tempers get the best of us.
Every one of us has some spiritual imperfections. We don't maintain good spiritual disciplines in prayer and Bible study. Too often, we forget to thank God for all his benefits to us. We don't give the church the attention it should have. We are less than perfect in our worship.
If we are married, we have an imperfect marriage because of the imperfections of both partners. If we are parents, we are imperfect in our parenting. If we are students, we are less than perfect students. In our friendships, we sometimes fail to be as sensitive and affirming as we should be. Whatever our work, even our excellence falls short of perfection.
Our world is imperfect. Our government is imperfect. Our church is filled with imperfections. The goods or services that we buy oftentimes have flaws.
Although it is not God's intent or will, our whole life and world is a composite of imperfections. We would like to be perfect, but if we attempted to be perfectionists, nobody could live with us. They couldn't stand us! As much as we might want our family members and friends to be perfect, if they were perfect, we would be so envious or jealous that our human relationships would break down.
Jesus taught that no one is perfect except God. Some of your and my imperfections are of our own making and choosing. Other imperfections may have been inherited. We may have inherited tendencies toward high blood pressure, poor joints, weight challenges or other physical issues.
While God can enable us to repent of those imperfections in us known as "sin," others we may simply have to face and "make the most of." Scripture assures us that God can use the imperfections that we entrust to him to perfect us -- ultimately (see Hebrews 10:15).
The best Biblical example of God using the imperfections that are entrusted to him to perfect us is seen in the life of the apostle Paul. He had some kind of physical imperfection. God never wills such imperfections. But if we are to be free to live, we must be free to be subject to these things.
Remembering Jesus' daring promise, "Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive," Paul prayed that his "thorn in the flesh" -- as he called it -- might be removed from him. But it was not removed. While God in no way wished this imperfection upon Paul, God did work this imperfection to Paul's advantage. Eventually, Paul was even grateful for it. So also, while we don't understand some of the imperfections we have to endure, we -- like Paul -- must entrust them to God.
Through the experiences of his life, Paul was assured by God of his presence and strength. God said only, "Trust me." And then God added, "My power is made perfect in your weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
All of us know some very ordinary persons God has made into extraordinary persons by way of their imperfections. Look what God made of Peter and two of the other disciples who had short-fuse tempers. There isn't a one of us who doesn't have imperfections that God cannot use to perfect our usefulness.
Look at the personalities of people in Scripture and the people around you today. You will find certain principles that enable folks to make the most of their imperfections.
For starters, we need to accept ourselves as we are and as God made us. Each of us is uniquely important, a distinctive individual created by God. Look at your own life. There is not another person exactly like you in all the world or even in all of history. You are a God-original! No other person can do what you can do or, at least, what you are intended to do. So each of us needs to learn how to accept ourselves with our imperfections and make the most of them. How many of us seem to prefer dwelling upon what we are not, instead of accepting and making the most of what we are!
The second principle in making the most of our imperfections is that of self-discipline. We can say, "Whatever I do, I will do in the name of the Lord." Like the words to the hymn, "Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee; take my lips, my hands, my feet…” When we turn these over to God, we can be certain that God's strength will be ours'.
Perhaps we would all do well to learn the lesson Noah learned in the play "Green Pastures," when the Lord told Noah he had a big job for him to do. In the play, Noah, not to be undone by all of his imperfections, says at one point, "I ain't very much, Lord, but I'se all I got." All he had was himself, imperfect as he was. But because he had faith in God and God had faith in him, God could use him to do a big job.
Tradition tells us that Moses had the imperfection of a speech impediment … that he stuttered. No problem to God. The disciple, Peter, had the imperfection of a fiery temper. Again, no impediment to God who, in Christ, used Peter to help build his church.
We make the most of our imperfections when we say to God, "I'm all I got. It may not be much; but, Lord, help me to make the most of myself." The Lord asks only that, with his help, we make the most of what we are and what we have. God can take any of our imperfections and use them to perfect us. Many of our imperfections will never be removed from our lives, but the strength to bear them and the grace of God to use them, will come to us.
Once there was a young boy who had the imperfection of a crippled leg. One day, his father took him before the altar of a great cathedral. The father and son had hoped that by prayer, the boy might be able to take the braces from his leg. But after they prayed for a long time, they walked back up the church's aisle. The braces were still necessary. But, as the boy was later to admit, "God didn't take the braces off my leg; but what he did was to take the braces off my mind. I managed the rest and made the best of it."
Don't ever let your imperfections upset you to the point that you are not functioning at your best of mind and body. Let God help you -- just as he helped the apostle Paul and as he has helped so many countless others. His word to all is the same: "My grace is sufficient for you; for power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Accepting and believing that, we will all be able to say with Paul: "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses…; for when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10)
Whatever our imperfections, you and I can make the most of our life simply by letting Christ make the most of us!
