Feb
7
2020
Imperfect Beauty
Posted in Evangelism 2 Comments
There is a crooked tree.
I see it on my walk.
I love that tree.
It speaks to my heart.
I am intrigued by the lone dandelion that stands proudly in the middle of the lawn.
The one dandelion that has somehow survived the organic lawn treatment.
The one dandelion that screams tenacity.
The pop of yellow in a sea of green.
I have noticed that imperfect things capture my heart.
There is a bit of whimsy in the imperfections.
They seem to call to me.
They do not push me away.
The gap between the two front teeth that makes a smile so unique.
One eye that seems to sit a little bit higher on the face than the other eye.
A line of gray hair that is so stark on one side of the head but not the other.
The single freckle that is so prominent on otherwise perfect skin.
Walls that have little hand prints going up the stairs.
Carpet that has the occasional juice stain from a Sippy cup that leaked.
A sofa that sags a bit under the one cushion that gets the most use.
The piano that is a little out of tune.
I love to see imperfections in wood.
Knots in the wood add to its beauty, not detract from it.
Wood furniture that has stood the test of time tells a story.
Each scratch is significant.
My eyes go to the imperfections of a thing.
I find the imperfections interesting.
I find them comforting.
I see those same imperfections in me.
In this Instagram age, imperfections are slowly becoming a thing of the past.
We can take one picture or twenty pictures until we get the perfect shot.
We can delete, and crop, and Photoshop to our heart’s content.
What have we lost in the process?
The picture may be breathtaking.
The picture may be stunning.
The picture may be absolutely perfect.
The picture is false.
In our attempt at perfection, we are actually making ourselves unapproachable.
Others see the picture we have created and it pushes them away.
They think, I can never be like that.
I can never have a house, or a garden, or a dinner table like that.
In our attempt at perfection, we have done a great disservice.
Instead of encouraging others, like God expects us to do, we are actually discouraging them.
The discouragement is not intentional in any way.
It is simply a by-product of our search for perfection.
There are musicians, artists, and writers that we admire but could ever emulate.
Their talent is so far above us, they simply put themselves in another league all together.
There are musicians, artists, and writers we admire and can emulate.
There is something about their gift that draws us in, captures us, and spurs us on.
How do those kinds of people draw us in?
How do they display their work in such a way that we think, I can try to do that!
They are gifted yet approachable.
They are talented yet invite us to join them in what they love so much.
The sheer love of their craft is palpable.
They love what they do so much and they want you to love it, too.
It is not just their job or their business as much as their passion.
They are totally amazed that they are able to play music, draw, or write.
I think that is the key.
Amazement.
Their work reflects that.
They know that what they are able to produce is a gift from God.
Through Him comes all good gifts. (James 1:17)
Through Him comes the ability to play music, draw, or write things that touch our soul.
They are in awe of the Giver.
Their gift is to be given away.
That may be the key.
The spotlight is on Him, not them.
They are the recipient of a Gift that they are now passing on to others.
They are amazed that God would choose to work through them for His glory.
In their humility and amazement, they accept their imperfections because only He is perfect.
No two people are the same.
They bring their uniqueness to the world.
They are made in the image of God.
Imago Dei.
Can you imagine our Creator God as he created everything we see around us?
Can you imagine His delight with the zebra’s stripes and the giraffe’s long neck?
Can you imagine His excitement as He fills the sky with indescribable colors each sunset?
Can you see His joy when He looks at each person He uniquely created by His hand?
Why would we attempt to make everything around us cookie cutter perfect?
God knitted us and fashioned us intentionally, with tender love and care. (Psalm 139:13,14)
There is nothing we can add to enhance God’s design.
We can make something artistically beautiful simply by playing, drawing, or writing for Him.
That singular purpose is worth far more than any cropping or photo shooting we may do.
The very thing we crop out of our pictures may be the very thing that will draw another in.
The repeated attempts to manufacture perfection, may actually push others away.
I can never be like that, but we can help them be like Him.
Being like Him is attainable though Christ.
We can have the mind of Christ. (Romans 12:2)
We can have the attitude of Christ. (Philippians 2:5)
We can love like Christ. (1 John 4:19)
We must draw others in and not push them away.
In our attempt at perfection, we are distancing ourselves from the very ones we want to reach.
Show the mistakes and the outtakes.
Show the crumpled pages on the floor during the editing process.
Show a picture of a table with sticky jelly and spilled milk.
Show a journal with ripped corners and doodled pages.
Show your windows and walls with little hand prints all over them.
That is the beauty of imperfection.
We are merely creatures; we are not the Creator.
Let’s leave perfection to Him.
Let us pray that our imperfections actually point others to Him.
Let’s admit that we cannot do it all; we need Him desperately.
I love this! You are so right — only God is perfect, why do we try to be? When I paint, I think of Him and the creative spirit He gave me. I love nature and am so inspired by it. But I know I can only imitate it when I do my art; the true Creator is our God Who made everything perfect in His Creation. I ache when I see how we are not taking care of all He has given us. Hopefully this will change, but probably we won’t see true perfection until we are in heaven.
Sue,
As an artist, you know that you can only imitate the beauty you see around you. When you paint, you are giving the gift He gave to you, back to Him. We can never come close to His perfection. We just stand amazed.
Gina