Practice Makes Perfect - by Joel Hempel Most of you know the name Simone Biles. She is called The GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) for good reason. She is! She is the incredible gymnast whose championships include 23 world and 7 Olympic gold medals - the most ever. Those numbers are even more impressive when you factor in that she grew up in an abusive family, struggled through foster homes until her grandparents could take her in, and faced down mental illness. Perfection! I guess it is achievable. Not for most of us, though. Most of us, if we are motivated, just keep trying. Or to be completely honest, it is more likely we don’t even think about trying. But God wants us to rethink that approach to life: If we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us.1 The meaning of the word “perfected” in this context is “completed, fulfilled, or comes to fruition.” Think about that! God’s love, his sacrificial love, is completed through our godly or sacrificial love for each other. The greatest act of love was the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The next act is up to us! Yes, God clearly loves us in His Word and his grace-filled Sacraments. But the Apostle John wants us to be clear that our love, our sacrificial love for one another, completes or brings to fulfillment God’s love. I know, none of us will ever become God’s holy GOAT of loving. There’s too much of us that gets in the way. I can personally attest to that. But here is the greater truth: As some of you remember, I gave a children’s message that had them looking in a mirror to see Jesus. When you look in the mirror, who do you see? Look closer! Don’t be distracted by your appearance. Can you see our Lord? See what great love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God. 2 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.3 God’s Love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 4 As we increase our awareness that God loves us with everlasting love, and as our godly love for one another increases, the more visible God becomes, and the more easily others can see Jesus in us. Are we a perfect reflection of Jesus? No. Will his image grow in us so that when we look in the mirror we don’t have to look twice? Absolutely! Look and love what you see. God does! For when we see what God sees, we naturally want to reach out to others in love. We become God’s love. 1. 1 John 4:12 2. 1 John 3:1-2 3. Galatians 2:20 4. Romans 5:5. Also, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 |
