Perfect

I was in a classroom with a group of first graders on a Wednesday night recently. The kids were coloring magnets for Mother’s Day during their free time. One little girl looked down at her magnet and said, “I want to go really slow because I want it to be perfect. Sometimes I get nervous because I really want my mom to like what I make. But she always tells me it’s beautiful and she loves it, even if I mess up.”

From the perspective of a parent, I find this to be so very true. I have never not loved something my kids have made for me, no matter how badly they color outside the lines. In fact—I love their artwork so much that I have a filing box dedicated to storing the scribbly drawings they give me. As the years have gone by, their artwork has improved a lot, but the scribbles still aren’t quite perfect—you can still tell it was made by a child. But that’s the whole point, right? They aren’t fully mature yet, so their work is going to have little mistakes.

While, of course, parents don’t keep everything their kids draw (it would be entirely too much!), even the least sentimental ones usually hold on to at least one thing their child makes. It’s the act of love that gives it such value.

As kids get older, some become insanely talented at art. We just hosted a Fine Arts Festival for students across the state last weekend, and some of the pieces were absolutely breathtaking. Since we’ve been in this ministry role for five years now, we’ve had the joy of watching some of these students grow up—and with that, their art has matured, too. I got emotional looking at some of the pieces the seniors made this year, and those aren’t even my kids! I was so proud of how much each of them had grown.

I can only imagine how their parents must feel—and how the heart of God swells with pride as He sees His children using the gifts He’s given them to honor and love Him, growing in ability and skill along the way.

This isn’t just applicable to youth and children—it applies to you and me, too. All who have accepted Jesus have become part of the family of God. While we aren’t all literal artists, we all have something to offer. We’ve each been given “talents” according to our ability. (Check out the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:13–40.)

God doesn’t expect perfection—we’re still in the process of becoming fully like Him, and perfection is impossible on this side of heaven. That’s why we need His grace! Sometimes we tell ourselves it has to be perfect to count for Him, or we hide when we make mistakes—but our Father just wants our love.

Our lives are full of imperfections, but God always has a way of using those mistakes for His glory. He never asked us for perfection—He just wants our hearts. Giving our best effort is pleasing to the Father. He multiplies our gifts, helps us grow, and uses our struggles to refine us and make us more like Him—until one day, we go to be with Him forever.

If you’ve been hesitant to use the gifts God has given you out of fear that they won’t be good enough—or you’ve hidden away from God because of your mistakes—today I pray you’ll rest assured in His overwhelming love for you.

“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!”
1 John 3:1a

“For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”
James 1:3–4

“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Philippians 3:12–14