Was Jesus Perfect?

-

"The woman came and knelt before Him. 'Lord, help me!' she said. But Jesus replied, 'It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.' 'Yes, Lord,' she said, 'even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.' 'O woman,' Jesus answered, 'your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.' And her daughter was healed from that very hour." ~ Mathew 15: 25-28 (ESV)

I was raised to see Jesus as the only perfect person to ever have walked the Earth.  I'd accepted the idea as an axiom (if religious axioms are a thing).  Then, I actually read the Bible. 

In Mathew 15: 25-28, Jesus makes a racial slur, comparing Canaanites to dogs.  Unfortunately, this moment of racial insensitivity wasn’t the only tarnish I found on Christ's armor of perfection. 

In John 2: 1-11, when Mary tells Jesus the wedding they're at is out of wine, Jesus calls her, "Woman," and essentially tells her it's not His problem.  He talked back to His mother. 

Then in Luke 8: 22-25 His disciples wake Him during a storm at sea, and He grumbles at them, "Where is your faith?"  Jesus woke up cranky.  

By my way of thinking, perfect people don't make racial slurs, talk back to their mother, or wake up cranky.  By my way of thinking, perfect people are kind and pleasant one hundred percent of the time.  Ah, but there’s the rub, I was holding Jesus to my idea of perfection without any objective reason to believe my idea of perfection was correct. 

I still think racial slurs, flippant remarks, and post slumber crankiness are things to shy away from.  In the end though, it's not my idea of perfection that matters.  Like I said in a recent blog, I think it's a perfection we don't understand; it's a perfection we need to accept on faith.

Giving Thanks

 -

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! ~ Psalm 95: 1-2

I pray a lot.  I pray when I wake up.  I pray when I boot my computer up each morning, revealing a picture of Christ displayed on my desktop's wallpaper.  I pray when a friend tells me of their struggles.  And, I pray before I go to sleep at night. 

During these prayers, I always dedicate a line to thanking God for all He's done for me and all the good people He's put into my life.  

I say the line every time.  The problem was, I was regurgitating the line, somewhere in the middle of a laundry-list of requests, without really thinking about the line.  It was a line, but I wasn’t feeling the thanks.

Saying, "thank you," without feeling gratitude is hollow, just empty words.  

Thanksgiving is upon us; a holiday based on giving thanks.  I think it may be a good time to a prayer, purely of thanks, to my daily repertoire. 

My Father in Heaven, thank You for all You've done for me throughout my life and all good people You've put into my life. I say thank You in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen. 

A Question Of Perfection

-

"You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." ~ Matthew 5:48

A few days ago, I was talking about religion with a friend, and self proclaimed WICCAN.  Yes, I know religion is supposed to be the proverbial third rail among friends.  I'm sorry though, there comes a point in a friendship, where if you're still only discussing superficial things (the Kardashians, Real Housewives of Omaha, and Star Trek), it may be a stagnant relationship. 

Anyway, my friend asked, "If God made mankind perfectly, why have people such as Hitler existed?"

I puzzled and I puzzled until my puzzler was sore.  Eventually, I told her we were a perfect creation, but what we do with that creation is up to us.  She went home satisfied with my answer. 

I'm not. 

The answer is based on the idea that people are born with the same number of; abilities, resources, and opportunities; and our lives are shaped by our choices.  It's a nice fluffy thought, but BUZZ, sorry, wrong answer!  Thanks for playing; Rod Roddy, tell them about their consolation prize. 

We don't start out on an equal playing field.  Some people are born with chronic physical and/or academic challenges.  Others are born into mind numbing poverty.  Thousands are still being born into slavery to mine diamonds.  We aren't all created equally or perfectly, at least not by our definition. 

 I still think of the Holy Trinity as being perfect.  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit reverently robed, watching over us from a white marble banister, surrounded by a host of angels.  It's how I drew them.  (See above)

Yet, it's a perfection I don't understand.  We may be so close to a single thread that we can’t see the perfection of the entire cosmic tapestry.  It's the best answer I can come up with.  Yet such an answer, while making me comfortable with my Christian faith, does nothing for the five-year-old digging for diamonds in Africa. 

I have faith in you Lord, but I don't understand your perfection.  Amen.