I’m not perfect, but God’s love is.
When I wake up every morning, I look into the mirror and see imperfection. I have marks of pimples, and I can already tell I am going to have a bad hair day.
But along with my physical imperfections, I see my spiritual imperfections. I am a selfish, lazy, pathetic excuse for a human being. I have my own fair share of regrets and I am still so young. So why would a perfect, holy and just God sacrifice His own son for me? It is a question I have struggled to understand.
Even though my earthly mind cannot truly understand this great phenomenon, I am forever grateful to be living in his amazing love every day. John Mark McMillan’s song “How He Loves” captures the power and essence of our Father’s love for us with its lyrics: “He is jealous for me/Loves like a hurricane/I am a tree/Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.”
The Creator of the universe is jealous for you. Just stop for a minute and take that in. The God who created everything we see here on this earth is jealous for you. He sees your imperfections, and He still longs for you to be His child. “When all of a sudden/I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory/And I realize just how beautiful You are/And how great Your affections are for me,” McMillan writes.
It is only when you are able to confront your imperfections in the mirror that you can see His beautiful reflection replacing your own. His wounds that were inflicted on the cross are what cover your own self-inflicted scars.
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
“So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss/And my heart turns violently inside of my chest/I don’t have time to maintain these regrets/When I think about the way/Oh how he loves us so.”
The love he feels for you is so powerful that when you experience it, you are driven to your knees in worship of him. Your imperfections fade from mind and they no longer consume your thoughts.
Even David, a man who experienced much heartache and failure, understood the extent of God’s love. “Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!” (Psalms 66:20).
“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you” (Psalms 63:3). His love is better than life, which is why it is possible to have the strength to live in an imperfect world. So take time out of your busy schedule to reflect on how much God loves you.
