Grace on the journey - a meditation on Christian imperfection
Opinion
Recently on a visit to a parish, I had an interesting conversation with one of the parishioners. It centred around one phrase, ‘how can I be perfect, in an imperfect world?’. Good question.
We read in the Scriptures: ‘Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ (Matthew 5:48). These words of Jesus, spoken during the Sermon on the Mount, echo with divine authority and a haunting sense of impossibility. It seems like a command, and asks the question, ‘what does it mean to be perfect as God is perfect?’, especially when we know that we are deeply flawed, fragile beings? Can a creature of dust mirror the perfection of the Creator?
To be Christian is, in part, to live in this tension. We believe in a God who is holy, blameless and pure – utterly unlike us. Yet we also follow a Saviour who shared our weakness, took on flesh, and preferred to mix with sinners.
We are told to be holy, to obey the commandments of God. And yet, at every step, we are reminded of our inability to fulfil the law, to keep from falling, to live up to the fullness of what we were created to be.
This is the paradox of Christian imperfection: we are called to holiness, yet we dwell in brokenness. We strive toward perfection, knowing we will not attain it. However perhaps that is precisely the point.
The illusion of perfection
We live in a world that adores perfection. Yet perfection, as we often conceive it, is not the same as God’s perfection. Human perfectionism tends to focus on flawless performance, image and control. We aim to present ourselves as competent, consistent and put-together. But this is a distortion of what God means by perfection.
God’s perfection is not about the absence of flaws but the fullness of love. God is perfect in love, mercy, justice and faithfulness. And when Jesus tells us to be perfect as the Father is perfect, He invites us into that same kind of wholeness – a heart formed by divine love.
Perfectionism can become an idol, a way of placing our hope in our own efforts rather than in God’s grace: the perfect body, the perfect image etc.
It can leave us ashamed of our humanity, afraid to admit weakness and prone to despair when we inevitably fall short. But the gospel frees us from the tyranny of needing to be perfect by our own strength. It reminds us that salvation is not earned through flawless living, but received through faith in Christ, who was perfect for us.
Embracing the continuum of imperfection
Christian life is not a destination but a journey to the Kingdom of God. It unfolds on a continuum – a path of formation, sanctification and daily dependence on grace. We are not expected to reach moral or spiritual perfection overnight. Rather, we are invited to walk in the light, one step at a time, trusting that God is at work in us.
Paul writes in Philippians 1:6 ‘the One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes’. Notice the language: it is God who begins the work and it is God who will complete it. We live in the ‘in-between’, the space where God is still shaping us. Our imperfections, rather than being obstacles to holiness, can become the very ground in which God’s grace is made visible.
We are called not to perfection in performance but to perfection in love. And love – especially the love God calls us to – is forged in the furnace of imperfection. It is in our failures that we learn to forgive. It is in our weaknesses that we learn compassion. It is in our vulnerability that true communion is born.
Imperfection as the place of encounter
Throughout the Scriptures, we see God meeting people not in their triumphs but in their failures. Moses, who stuttered and doubted. David, who sinned grievously yet remained a person after God’s own heart. Peter, who denied Jesus but was restored and called to shepherd the early Church. Paul, who described himself as the chief of sinners, yet became one of Christianity’s greatest apostles.
Their stories remind us that God is not deterred by human imperfection. On the contrary, God seems to delight in using imperfect vessels to accomplish God’s perfect will. Our brokenness does not disqualify us; it is the very space where God’s power is made perfect.
‘My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness,’ the Lord tells Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9. This is a mystery and a mercy: that our imperfections, rather than hiding God, can reveal God more clearly.
Living with imperfection without shame
To live as a Christian is not to live in denial of sin or failure. But neither is it to live under the crushing weight of shame. The gospel calls us to repentance – not to self-loathing. Repentance is a turning, a return to the embrace of the Father. It is a hopeful act, grounded in the belief that we are more than our failures.
The enemy would have us believe that our imperfection makes us unworthy of God’s love. But the cross declares the opposite: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Yes, each of us is deeply flawed and at the same time, deeply loved. That is the tension we carry – and the hope we hold.
Encouraging others on the journey
Understanding our own imperfection should lead us to be gentle with others. The Church is not a showcase of the spiritually elite but a hospital for the broken. If we pretend to be perfect, we isolate others in their struggles. But when we are honest about our imperfections, we create space for others to find healing.
Grace begets grace. When we accept our own need for mercy, we become more merciful. When we recognise our own failings, we are less likely to judge others harshly. This is the community Christ envisions – a people bound not by perfection but by grace.
The hope of glory
Ultimately, Christian hope rests not in our ability to become perfect but in the promise that we shall be made new. The journey of sanctification continues until the day we see Christ face to face. Then, and only then, will we be made truly whole.
In the meantime, we live in the already-and-not-yet. We are being renewed daily, even as we stumble. God is not finished with us. And each moment of failure becomes a fresh invitation to return, to trust and to walk again in the light of grace.
Conclusion
Christian imperfection is not a flaw in the system; it is the very canvas on which grace is painted. Only God is perfect. And that is good news because it means we do not have to be. We are free to live honestly, humbly and hopefully. We are free to fail and to rise again, not by our strength, but by the mercy of the One who began the good work in us. Grace is always at work.
Let us walk the long road of imperfection with courage, knowing that we are not alone. God walks with us. God is patient, kind and faithful to complete what God has begun. And in every stumble, God is shaping us – not into flawless beings but into people who reflect God’s love.
Thus, may we know that God is good, good indeed.
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