Perfect

Beauty of Impossible -- Jesus' Example

Jesus is the perfect example of a man of integrity. After He was baptized, He went into the wilderness and fasted forty days and nights, during which time Satan came trying to break Him. He was tempted in every way, yet He never sinned (Hebrews 4:15). How in the world are we going to follow that example?

Hello, I'm Clarence, I'm the preacher. Let me answer your question, starting right now.

Jesus is the example of perfection we aim at. We need that high of a goal even though we know we will never reach it. God is doing us a great favor here, and most people don't realize it.

Part of the beauty of this goal is that we always have something in this life to strive toward. We can keep honing our skills, our spiritual skills, and making progress to higher ground. Many people don't understand that once we hit the level at which there is no more progress to be made, we are done. It's over. What's the fun in that?

When discussing this concept, I often use the analogy of a basketball player standing at the free throw line. The player aims for perfection. We all know that the prayer will never hit every shot at the free throw line during his career, right, but he aims for it, and we cheer for him. We love to hope that he or she will get close and closer and maybe even set a record.

The reason the basketball goal is ten feet high and 15 feet from the free throw line is to create a challenge that is impossible to do perfectly. If we want a series of perfect free throws then let close the distant so much so that the player cannot possibly miss, but no one is going to buy a ticket to watch that, right.

In a similar manner we need the impossible example of Jesus to give us a goal we can reach now and then, often enough to keep us encourage, often enough to keep us hoping and growing. There is pure divine genius here, if you ask me. If a person can wrap their mind around this, God is blessing them with the opportunity of perpetual growth, which is what the human heart hungers for. Perpetual growth, or progress is one of the basic elements that contributes to our happiness.

I have to add a warning. Don't fall short on purpose. Keep aiming for perfection because at your best you are going to miss more than you want.

Don't beat yourself up for not being absolutely perfect. We are not infinite beings like God. God created us with limits on purpose. Try to learn to enjoy being a limited being.

Relax and enjoy the journey, do your best, by all means, but you have long ago blown your chance of living a sin free, perfect, and flawless life. Now, just do the best you can with the time you have left.

In short, God gave us the example of Jesus to keep drawing us higher and high, closer and closer.