Dealing with life's Imperfections

16 October 2011

In life, we expect fair play. That is the ideal.

“All’s fair in love and war” – so people who break all fairness rules say. We can cry foul and get all upset but life is not as fair as we think it should be. That is the reality.

Do we throw away our idealism in the face of realism? Must the ideals of perfection be abandoned? Should we settle for less?

“Life is not fair. Just grow up!” So the world tells us.

But if growing up means giving up on the ideal, let me stay with Peter Pan! If growing up means giving in to something that is not right – banish me to Neverland!

Grow up – we must, but not by the world’s definition.

As Christians, we are to “grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” (Eph 4:15)

If spiritual growth means becoming like Christ, then how Christ handled life’s disappointments ought to be ours as well. Christ accepted life’s mess but did not settle for it. He gave Himself to reconcile an imperfect world with a perfect God. He did so by enduring the cross, persevering through sufferings and staying on the course of truth and love.

Thus, one of the signs of spiritual maturity is the ability to accept things as it is without becoming cynical or discouraged. It is the persistency to not give up on our beliefs while seeing life played out on warped values.

So keep believing. Keep growing. Keep working. Life is not fair. But God is. People are flawed. So are we. What it is is not what it should be. We are not yet what we could be.