English Compass - bringing christian fellowship to korean americans

Striving for Perfection

I was taught that practice makes perfect. When I played the violin as a youngster, I used to practice so much that I had a bruise on my left clavicle and would have to ice my left hand on few occasions. When it came to my Christian walk, I implemented the same philosophical strategy but my practice never resulted in perfection. I believed that the more I practiced patience, the more patient I would become or the more I practiced forgiveness, the more forgiving I would become. Sounds right, doesn’t it? Therein was the crux of my frustration! As God worked with me, He reminded me of the beautiful verse found in Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” I believe in the gospel but the Devil and the evil angels believe in the gospel as well. I can practice the fruits of the spirit over and over again but it will be empty if my heart hasn’t been transformed. This was when I realized that my belief and practice was important but wasn’t enough. I was missing something.

2016 is upon us and for those who are frustrated, confused, and have hit a spiritual block, there is a reason. You must fall in love with Christ again. “Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.’” (Zechariah 4:6). Striving for perfection will not come through practicing the fruits of the spirit or believing in the gospel. Perfection will come when you allow Christ to do the work and trust that He will complete it. When God revealed this to me I’m ashamed to say that my first instinct was not to believe it because it sounded too simple. God was so gracious and merciful that He brought to my mind various times when I would repeat some of the expressions of the friends I frequently spend a great deal of time. In that same vein, the personality of Christ will influence my behavior the more I spend time with Him. His character will not be something I have to strive for; it will merely be my natural instinct. I won’t have to work to not covet; I will naturally not covet. I won’t have to work to keep the Sabbath; I will naturally keep the Sabbath. There is no struggle or anxiety in this process. It is a process requiring us to trust God and His timing.

Perfection will not come immediately. King David was far from perfect but he longed for a clean and pure heart. As we patiently wait for Christ to finish His work in our hearts, we can focus on restoration. Restoration can be much more beautiful than an attempt at perfection. In addition, Jesus was perfect for us. Christ’s perfection becomes our perfection when we spend time with Him. Christ is perfect. Therefore, we must redefine what it means to strive for perfection; instead, we must strive for Jesus. He is the anointed one and His mission was to free those who were enslaved to sin. If we were perfect and never offended God, we would never know the depth of His forgiveness and the depth of His mercy. Because of our imperfections, we were witnesses to the depth of His love when he died for us.

Let 2016 be the year we strive to be closer to Jesus and worry about nothing else. 2015 has passed away and so have those days of grey and lukewarm dispositions. If you’ve asked Christ to change your heart, believe He will do just that and continue to get to know Him. So for those striving for perfection: strive to be close to Jesus and trust He’ll finish the work. Be excited! 2016 will be the year Christ becomes an even closer friend.

Kim Machado was born and raised in the Adventist church and attended Adventist schools. Though she is not Korean American, she has Chinese heritage. Kim attends a Korean Adventist church where she teaches sabbath school to the young adults and has picked up a great deal of the Korean language. As a youngster she enjoyed hearing stories of her Chinese great grandmother and her courage in leaving China to work in Cuba. Western and Eastern philosophical views and how they are interpreted through lifestyle and scripture are important to her and she strives to express both views in her writing. Kim speaks fluent Italian, is a psychotherapist specializing in trauma and dissociative disorders, a classical singer, and a writer. In her spare time she enjoys taking yoga classes and watching obscure foreign films.