Beauty in Imperfection

Voice over by David Brantley | Download video HERE

How do you define perfection? Think about that for a minute.

Merriam-Webster defines the state of being ‘perfect’ in three different ways: freedom from fault or defect, maturity, and the quality or state of being saintly. Others when asked for a definition of perfection may come back with an answer based on efficiency, order, or wholeness. Regardless of how each one of us defines perfection, one commonality has struck me—all of the definitions of perfection I have heard are subjective in some way or another. Each person’s understanding of perfection is rooted in their understanding of purpose. A clay pot, for example, can be understood as perfect for holding plants, but it is far from perfect if you want to sit on it as if it were a chair. 

Although many would argue otherwise, the Christian idea of perfection is also subjective. The Catholic Church teaches that perfection is the ultimate fulfillment of human purpose through complete union with God. For John Wesley, christian perfection was synonymous with perfect love. The Quaker teaching is that perfection is a release from sin as opposed to power over sin. Many christian traditions view perfection as being completely without sin. Other traditions equate perfection to holiness. While most Christians believe perfection can only be achieved after death, many believe it is attainable in this life. 

Along with the subjectivity of perfection, I also have observed that many views of perfection are rooted in competition. Our definition of perfection requires us to be the “best”, which naturally means being better than everyone else. The perfect photographer is better than all of the other photographers. The perfect runner always wins the race. The perfect writer has the best-selling book. This aspect of how many of us define perfection makes perfection something exclusive and unattainable—there will always be someone better than us. Often when we pursue these ideas of perfection we fall.

Broken. Shattered. Useless.

But God.

God sent God’s son for the sinners. For the broken, shattered and useless people of the world. Jesus came to put us all back together—to redeem each and every one of us. When we accept and follow Christ, we are each reborn and remade in the image of Christ. 

But the cracks still show.

We are healed, forgiven, and reborn but we still have cracks, scratches, and scars of the life we lived. The experiences we had. The mistakes we made. We are forgiven, but the memories remain. The hurt we caused doesn’t simply disappear. These cracks are much more than memories of our brokenness—they are constant reminders of the grace and love of God. We are imperfect, but our imperfection radiates the love of God.

Personally, I believe that true perfection is something we only ever get glimpses of in this life. We see moments of it in the acts of the saints. We see aspects of it in the beauty of the natural world around us. It is present in the patience a teacher has with their student, or the selflessness of a social worker, or unconditional love a parent has for their child. We see it lived in the life of Jesus Christ. I believe true perfection is present in this life, but only ever for a fleeting moment. 

It is much easier to see those moments of holy perfection through the cracks of our own imperfections.