No Longer Imperfect

I just woke up from a good nap. When I was a child I thought “Nap Time” was a punishment… now as a grown-up, it feels more like a mini vacation. I don’t just jump up and get started with life again. It generally takes me a few minutes to acclimatize again, of which I often spend in philosophical thought. Wouldn’t it be great if we could put ourselves in the dryer for ten minutes to come out wrinkle-free and three sizes smaller? I told myself I was going to retire this year and live off my savings, but on second thought I had no idea what I was going to do the second week. Why do I have to press one for English when I’m only going to get transferred to someone I can’t understand anyway? People tell me I need to be more tolerant. My people shills are just fine. It’s my tolerance with idiots that needs work. Oops! Did I just roll my eyes out loud? Sorry! I’ve discovered the biggest lie I still tell myself is… “I don’t need to write that down, I’ll remember it.” I’ve lost my mind and I’m pretty sure my kids took it.

A ten-year-old girl was eating breakfast with her grandfather. Thinking she was fairly intelligent he asked, “Do you know what tomorrow is?” Without skipping a beat she answered, “It Presidents Day!” Expecting to hear something about Washington or Lincoln or other past Presidents he asked her, “What does Presidents Day mean?” She replied with authority, “Presidents Day is when the President steps out of the White House and if he sees his shadow we have another year of buffoonery.” I’ll bet it scared the poor little girl to see hot coffee erupting from her grandfather’s nose.

Of course we all know children have no inhibitions when it comes to expressing their thoughts which at certain ages is a gumbo of myths, jokes, tall tales and facts. Here are some thoughts about angels. * “I only know the name of two angels; Hark and Harold.” * “Angels work for God and watch over kids when God has to go do something else.” * “My guardian angel helps me with math, but he’s not much good for science.” * “Angels talk all the way when they’re flying you up to heaven. The main subject is where you went wrong before you got dead.” * “When an angel gets mad he takes a deep breath and counts to ten. And when he lets out his breath again, somewhere there’s a tornado.” * “Angels live in cloud houses made by God and his Son, who is a very good carpenter.” * Some of the angels are in charge of helping heal sick animals and pets. And if they don’t make the animals get better, they help the child get over it.” * “What I don’t get about angels is why, when someone is in love, they shoot arrows at them.” * “Angels don’t eat but they drink milk from Holy Cows.”

[1 Corinthians 13:11] “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish things behind me.” As children we are selfish… me, me, me… Mine, Mine, Mine! While Paul is writing about the “most excellent way” of being a part of the body of Christ, his emphasis is on… what is love? If we understand what love is then we are able to mature becoming God’s people, a people that will please God. Paul gives an example of the maturing of God’s Word, His will for us, through the prophets and miracles. All these things will be done away with and we will be left with the perfection of God’s Word, the Bible, to mature us in faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love. We may not understand all the Bible has to teach us, but there is no imperfection in God’s message of love.