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First Presbyterian Church of Inglewood
100 North Hillcrest Ave
Inglewood, California 90301
Telephone numbers: (310) 677-5133 (323) 678-0268
Fax (310) 330-8342 Electronic mail: PRESBYTS@SBCGLOBAL.NET
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Rev. Dr. Harold E Kidd
2 Corinthians 13
AIM FOR
PERFECTION
"Finally,
brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live
in peace. And the God of peace will be with you."
2 Corinthians
13:11
Have you ever noticed how we
are fascinated with the illusion of perfection. Some of us spend a great amount
of time observing, analyzing, discerning, in an effort to acquire what might be
considered without flaw. Some do this
as they are shopping for clothing, cars, homes. Examining every stitch and
seam, checking for some flaw in the makeup of this automobile, taking
flashlight in hand and combing every nook and cranny of a home, looking for
that which will tell us we need to keep on looking!
This illusion of perfection
has some seeking dreams of finding what might be considered the perfect
relationship. And if not perfect, as close to perfect as is possible. The knight
in shining armor. The woman of one's dreams. Some of you might recall the movie
years ago entitled
“10”, starring Bo Derek and
Dudley Moore -- the movie seeking to capture one man's fantasy of finding the
most perfectly beautiful woman.
And evidently there must be
some like that … looking for the perfect 10 … because there have been many who
have searched for the perfect 10. The story is told of a man who while in his
youth searched for the perfect woman. He believed that if he looked long enough
and hard enough, he would eventually find her, and he would be happy for the
rest of his life. Well, the years and romances came and went, as he searched
for the perfect woman. And the day came, after all the years of search that he
found his perfect woman. Immediately he
fell in love with her and asked her to marry him, and she refused saying,
"You Are Not The Perfect Man." The moral of this story is that what
he was seeking in someone else he did not possess within himself. We have to be
careful when it comes to this illusion of perfection.
Does this illusion of
perfection have us expecting of our leaders more from them than what is humanly
possible? Surely our leaders carry a
high responsibility. Yes, the demands and expectations placed upon them are often
great. Even our Lord said, “To whom much has been given much is required.”
Effective leaders must be resilient enough to face challenge, courageous enough
to take some risks, loving enough to accept people where they are, and work
with a patient belief that the best or better is yet to come, even when others
are saying it will never happen.
But by the same token do we
sometimes expect out of our leaders more than is humanly possible of them? Do we sometimes expect more from individuals
and institutions than they have the capacity to give? No President, Senator,
Representative, Governor, or School Superintendent can possibly solve by
themselves a complex maze of problems, such as we face in our nation today,
many of which have become as difficult to resolve as trying to unravel a ball
of knotted string.
Perhaps that is why we are
encouraged to pray for those in roles of leadership over us. Because if they
are going to be effective in any capacity in what they have been elected or
chosen to do, they need our prayers, and God's help. No person can solve all of
our problems.
Even as parents we can
sometimes expect more from our children than they are capable of giving. Can
our expectations of them sometimes be too high? I wish I knew how to make it
plain. Adult children who are now in their 40's and 50's, yet who suffer from
low self-esteem because they could never measure up to the expectations of an
over-demanding parent. I know of a father who never seemed to give his children
encouragement but was always belittling them. The paradox was that he expected
from them what he was not able to do himself. Chasing the illusion of
perfection can leave behind some damaging consequences.
The church itself is not
exempt from this illusion of perfection. An unknown author wrote a paragon that
puts our human imperfections in a realized perspective:
I think that I shall never see a church that's all
it ought to be;
A church whose members never stray beyond the
straight and narrow way!
A church that has no empty pews, whose pastor never
has the blues,
A church whose members always share and none is
proud, and all are meek.
Where gossips never peddle lies or make complaints
or criticize;
Where all are always sweet and kind and to all
others' faults are blind. Such perfect churches there may be, but none of them
are known to me. But still we'll work and pray and plan to make our own the
best we can.
Yes, even in the Kingdom,
there are no perfect churches, and yet many move from church to church, seeking
a church that will be without fault or error. The perfect 10. In fact more of the church’s congregational
growth these days is due to
membership migration rather than bringing lost people to Jesus Christ. I don't
know about you, but my prayer and desire for this church is that we will be a
church that God can use to reach lost persons for Christ, while welcoming any
who are seeking a new church family. Yes, a church that God can use to reach
lost people for Jesus Christ.
Paul is the writer of a
majority of the NT Epistles. When you
read his letters, most of them are written to churches encountering one kind of
a problem or another, and in many cases multiple problems. Galatians, 1 & 2
Corinthians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 2 Timothy, and Titus were written by
Paul to address and correct problems in church teaching, in poor leadership, in
membership behavior, in the exercise of spiritual gifts, in the observance of
Communion, in Stewardship, and in a number of other areas.
Given all that has been said
concerning perfection or the illusion of perfection, isn't it strange that Paul
in writing to the Corinthians in his second letter would encourage them to aim for perfection? "Finally,
brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind,
live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you." Paul's
closing words to the believers in Corinth: aim for perfection.
In a church that had been
wonderfully blessed, Paul's hope for them is that they will learn to live in agreement
and peace. No congregation can worship the God of peace in the spirit of
bitterness and hostility, one member fighting another member, one group
fighting another group. But we must demonstrate our love for each other before
our love for God has any reality. 1 John says it this way, "Dear friends
let us love one another, for love comes from God." (1:7)
When we examine this word
perfection, it is most often used in the Greek New Testament to convey the
meaning of spiritual maturity. So in so many words Paul is encouraging the
Corinthians to aim for Spiritual Maturity. God knows that in this life we will
never achieve perfection, as in being without fault, without spot or wrinkle. The believer would have no need for grace if it were possible
for one to achieve perfection in this mortal life.
We are however encouraged to
grow on in spiritual maturity as the sons and daughters of God. In his sermon
on the mount, Jesus taught his disciples, "Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst … after righteousness, for they shall be filled." How hungry
are we today for fellowship with God, to learn of God's Holy Word, to worship
God with glad and sincere hearts, to come before his presence with
thanksgiving, a willingness to service, and a commitment to giving.
Though it is a congregation
that is by no means perfect, Paul is encouraging them to press on towards
spiritual maturity. God forbid that any of us ever get to a point concerning
our life in Christ, where we are content to remain just as we are, because we've
arrived. There is always some area in our spiritual life as well as mortal life
where God is seeking growth. And God allows some of us to live out our days
with a thorn in the flesh lest we become too complacent or lest we
should begin to think more
highly of ourselves than we should.
In Joshua chapter 14, when
the land was being parceled out, Caleb -- who alone with Joshua had come back
to Moses with a favorable report that they could take the land of Canaan which
the Lord God had promised to their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- Caleb
at the tender age of 85 said to Joshua, "Now give me this mountain".
At the age of 85 Caleb didn’t ask for the easy portion but he asked for the
hard portion, the mountainous Hill country of Hebron.
"Why, Caleb did you ask
for the hard portion and not the easy portion?" Well, perhaps Caleb
realized that even while he was up in age, he still needed challenges in his
life. Challenges that would cause him
to grow onward and upward. Challenges
that would keep him on bended knee. Challenges
that would keep his heart as a deer panting after the water brooks of God.
Like Caleb, we can never
allow ourselves to rest on our past accomplishments and reputations.
Paul put it this way when he
examined his own life, "Forgetting what lies behind, I press on to the
higher calling of God in Christ Jesus."
Aim for
perfection. Yes, not in the sense that
one is without faults, flawless, beyond making some mistakes, but in the sense
that like Paul, we are pressing on to the higher calling of God in Christ
Jesus.
A word here about this word forget used by Paul in Philippians 3:13.
Forgetting the past, not in the sense that we ignore our mistakes of the past,
for those who ignore their mistakes of the past are bound to repeat them. But don't allow bad memories, past mistakes,
tragedies, sorrows, experiences to have dominion over your soul or your life.
You can't run the race if you’re holding on to a lot of baggage from the past.
Yes, Aim for
perfection. We can never be flawless in
this life, but we can aspire to walk like a Christian. We can aspire to talk
like a Christian. We can aspire live like a Christian. We can aspire to love
our neighbors as we do ourselves. Yes, we may never be perfect in this life,
but we can aspire to have the spiritual maturity to treat others the way the
Lord has treated us. We can aspire to love others the way God loves us.
Yes, Aim for
perfection. Paul had a whole lot of
baggage in his past, but he didn't let his past baggage weigh him down and keep
him from the bright future awaiting him in the Lord. I can hear him this
morning -- can you hear him? I'm not going to let my past baggage, old &
bad memories, and my mistakes keep me from receiving my present and future
blessings in the Lord.
This one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind, forgetting my mistakes, forgetting the bad things that have
happened in my life, forgetting what
others have said about me and done to me.
I'm pressing on, the upward way, new heights
gaining every day,
I'm pressing on, to see what
the end’s gonna be,
I'm pressing on, to the
higher calling of God in Christ Jesus.
I'm pressing on, because I've
decided to make Jesus my choice.
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