What is perfect anyway?
I've thought a lot about this (too much actually!) and the conclusion I've come to is that there's no such thing as perfection in this world.
Not without Christ.
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| Aren't we cuter when we're being real? I love James' face! |
"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind, and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ..." - Moroni 10:32
That's a lot of perfects...but let's remind ourselves of the example I spoke about in my first post. It was not the "perfectly" obedient Pharisees who Christ lauded when He came to earth. Rather it was the humble sinners who were willing to repent and follow Him who won His praise. But why????
Ultimately I think it has to do with "coming unto Christ." After all it's His grace that does the saving and perfecting. So motto #3 is be Christ-Reliant!
I was listening to a Christian radio station and they mentioned this concept of being Christ-reliant. I immediately recognized that I'd been touting around my self-reliance like a badge of honor, believing that I was righteous when I could provide for my own needs (and the needs of all those depending on me) without His help. While self-reliance is important - we all need to do our part to take care of ourselves - the truth is that all our best efforts to solve our own problems or to be prepared for any possible catastrophe will never be enough. It doesn't matter how hard we work, how much sleep we sacrifice, or even how much we plan, prepare, save, etc.
We will always need Christ.
So let's look at the first part of that scripture again.
"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him..." - Moroni 10:32
The word "perfected" here is translated more accurately in our modern language as made whole or complete. Soak that in for a second - Christ has promised us that He can make us WHOLE!!!!!
All of us have received a scratch or two in this life, both emotionally and physically, so we know we don't have to be guilty in order to need this gift of being made whole. That's why I love looking at Christ's role this way! It removes shame (which I'll be talking about in my next post) from the equation, making our goal completeness rather than that nasty intimidating monster named perfection. And as appealing as perfection sounds, to me being complete or whole sounds even better! A wholehearted person is joyful, while a whited sepulcher only appears so.
So what do I think of when I picture a whole or "wholehearted" person? I picture someone who can interact with others with an open and honest sincerity, carrying little thought for themselves or how they're perceived. I picture a hard-worker who gives thanks to God for his bounteous harvest. Especially at this time of unease, I picture someone who can mourn the tragedies of this world, but who has the faith to be comforted in Christ, rather than becoming fearful (Matt. 5:4). I imagine someone who can sacrifice without complaint, someone who can forgive without hesitation, someone who can love without conditions.
Ultimately, I picture Christ.
Coincidentally, Brene Brown, the vulnerability researcher I mentioned in post 1, has given the name "wholehearted" to those in her research who have accepted vulnerability. She's discovered that invulnerability, which carries with it pride, has high costs. Brene's research has revealed that we are the most in-debt, obese, addicted and medicated adult cohort in U.S. history. In the Bible, Matthew prophesies that in our day "the love of many shall wax cold," and I believe that the list Brene gave is only the beginning of the effects of frozen hearts that we've seen.
It's up to us to begin the worldwide thawing of hearts, starting with ourselves. A first step we can take is becoming Christ-reliant and letting go of excuses for why we hold back or hold onto the things we know we shouldn't. Then we can truly love God above all else, and Christ can make our hearts whole again. In that process, we will be able to become more and more like He is.
I know what the perfectionist might argue next: But shouldn't we feeI bad when we make a mistake or fall short? Isn't relying on Christ too simple????
The short answer is NO, and the longer answer is this: Christ already has suffered for every mistake we could ever make and any inadequacy we could ever have! He's already paid the price! With that understanding, we can see how holding onto those things not only shows a lack of faith, but it also hints that we may not be as humble as we thought. True humility is being vulnerable enough to admit to Christ that we need His help, and that we're grateful that He paid the price so we wouldn't have to.
True humility is being vulnerable enough to let go.
I know this is hard, I've struggled with it for years. However, when I do manage to open up to Christ, I've found immense relief from laying burdens or questions too big for me to carry on His shoulders. Just this past week I fasted for something that I knew I could not accomplish on my own - that I would be able to have more self-love rather than self-judgement. I knew that I had a righteous desire and that the Lord wanted to help me, all that was left to do was to ask with faith. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Over the last few days I've noticed a remarkable change! I've felt the joy and peace that comes from truly connecting with my Savior and accessing the power He offers to each of us. I'm so grateful I decided to be vulnerable enough to ask, and I urge you to break the cycle of struggle we often find ourselves in and offer your own sincere prayer that gives with it your heart and finally opens up the windows of heaven so that "there is not room enough to receive it."
Thanks for reading,
~Kamie
Some helpful resources for understanding and accepting the Atonement:
Sister Stephens' talk The Master Healer
Believing Christ by Stephen R. Covey
I'm Not Perfect, Can I Still Go To Heaven? by Anthony Sweat
That's a lot of perfects...but let's remind ourselves of the example I spoke about in my first post. It was not the "perfectly" obedient Pharisees who Christ lauded when He came to earth. Rather it was the humble sinners who were willing to repent and follow Him who won His praise. But why????
Ultimately I think it has to do with "coming unto Christ." After all it's His grace that does the saving and perfecting. So motto #3 is be Christ-Reliant!
I was listening to a Christian radio station and they mentioned this concept of being Christ-reliant. I immediately recognized that I'd been touting around my self-reliance like a badge of honor, believing that I was righteous when I could provide for my own needs (and the needs of all those depending on me) without His help. While self-reliance is important - we all need to do our part to take care of ourselves - the truth is that all our best efforts to solve our own problems or to be prepared for any possible catastrophe will never be enough. It doesn't matter how hard we work, how much sleep we sacrifice, or even how much we plan, prepare, save, etc.
We will always need Christ.
So let's look at the first part of that scripture again.
"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him..." - Moroni 10:32
The word "perfected" here is translated more accurately in our modern language as made whole or complete. Soak that in for a second - Christ has promised us that He can make us WHOLE!!!!!
All of us have received a scratch or two in this life, both emotionally and physically, so we know we don't have to be guilty in order to need this gift of being made whole. That's why I love looking at Christ's role this way! It removes shame (which I'll be talking about in my next post) from the equation, making our goal completeness rather than that nasty intimidating monster named perfection. And as appealing as perfection sounds, to me being complete or whole sounds even better! A wholehearted person is joyful, while a whited sepulcher only appears so.
So what do I think of when I picture a whole or "wholehearted" person? I picture someone who can interact with others with an open and honest sincerity, carrying little thought for themselves or how they're perceived. I picture a hard-worker who gives thanks to God for his bounteous harvest. Especially at this time of unease, I picture someone who can mourn the tragedies of this world, but who has the faith to be comforted in Christ, rather than becoming fearful (Matt. 5:4). I imagine someone who can sacrifice without complaint, someone who can forgive without hesitation, someone who can love without conditions.
Ultimately, I picture Christ.
Coincidentally, Brene Brown, the vulnerability researcher I mentioned in post 1, has given the name "wholehearted" to those in her research who have accepted vulnerability. She's discovered that invulnerability, which carries with it pride, has high costs. Brene's research has revealed that we are the most in-debt, obese, addicted and medicated adult cohort in U.S. history. In the Bible, Matthew prophesies that in our day "the love of many shall wax cold," and I believe that the list Brene gave is only the beginning of the effects of frozen hearts that we've seen.
It's up to us to begin the worldwide thawing of hearts, starting with ourselves. A first step we can take is becoming Christ-reliant and letting go of excuses for why we hold back or hold onto the things we know we shouldn't. Then we can truly love God above all else, and Christ can make our hearts whole again. In that process, we will be able to become more and more like He is.
I know what the perfectionist might argue next: But shouldn't we feeI bad when we make a mistake or fall short? Isn't relying on Christ too simple????
The short answer is NO, and the longer answer is this: Christ already has suffered for every mistake we could ever make and any inadequacy we could ever have! He's already paid the price! With that understanding, we can see how holding onto those things not only shows a lack of faith, but it also hints that we may not be as humble as we thought. True humility is being vulnerable enough to admit to Christ that we need His help, and that we're grateful that He paid the price so we wouldn't have to.
True humility is being vulnerable enough to let go.
I know this is hard, I've struggled with it for years. However, when I do manage to open up to Christ, I've found immense relief from laying burdens or questions too big for me to carry on His shoulders. Just this past week I fasted for something that I knew I could not accomplish on my own - that I would be able to have more self-love rather than self-judgement. I knew that I had a righteous desire and that the Lord wanted to help me, all that was left to do was to ask with faith. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Over the last few days I've noticed a remarkable change! I've felt the joy and peace that comes from truly connecting with my Savior and accessing the power He offers to each of us. I'm so grateful I decided to be vulnerable enough to ask, and I urge you to break the cycle of struggle we often find ourselves in and offer your own sincere prayer that gives with it your heart and finally opens up the windows of heaven so that "there is not room enough to receive it."
Thanks for reading,
~Kamie
Some helpful resources for understanding and accepting the Atonement:
Sister Stephens' talk The Master Healer
Believing Christ by Stephen R. Covey
I'm Not Perfect, Can I Still Go To Heaven? by Anthony Sweat
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