Perfect 10

I didn't know how I wanted to start off this blog. I went back and forth deciding on the first word, debating, in my head, on what it should be. I didn't want to have it start with "I" because the last two had started with the same personalization and I didn't want to seem too self-centered. So I was going to start it with a relatable story on how the show 'Double Dare' has affected me now that I've grown and can look back on it analytically. Relate how the shows' final hurdle of competition, a super sloppy obstacle course, shows how we go through life struggling in the mess of the world on this mad dash to the finish. It seemed so personal and poignant for the majority of people that would actually read this blog, albeit few and far between. I even go about my writings with a sort of pseudo-intellectualism. Using 'big' words that I have in my quiver of vocabulary but seldom equip in my daily life; leaving people that know me personally to ponder if I am just puffing up this work to seem more learned. I'll be the first to admit I never thought I'd ever have the balls to write down what goes on in my head all day, not to mention writing it down in some fucking online blog for the world to see. (And yes the "world" reads this; I am the beacon of hope to the lost majority.) And I'm no literary genius, anybody who got at least an A in a high school English course could point out hundreds of mistakes I've already made up to this point. Nevertheless, I harp on these aspects of writing, especially on such a public forum. I get so wrapped up in trying to make this blog "perfect" for everybody to read. To make it revolutionary to your lives. Spark a fire in your soul that has been lying dormant for years just waiting for me to come along and agitate that damned thing. I wanted this to be a forum to, 1. get my thoughts out of my skull, 2. have some sort of creative outlet, and 3. be a source of wisdom and conviction in the readers', your guys’, lives. I was so dead set on this "perfection" that I battled over the beginning of this shit for a solid while waiting to pour this out.

Perfection is a weird thing in our world and in our lives. There are competitions, such as the Olympics and X-Games, where judges will score you 1-10 on how you performed. Ten, the numerical equivalent to "perfection" in today's world. Yet to me perfection is something I will never achieve. Not because I don't want it, but because I know it is impossible for us to accomplish. As it says in James 3: 2,

"We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check." (NIV)

Can anyone that is reading this, whole heartedly say to me that they can control all aspects of their body, mind, and actions? Yeah, I can't either. But, that is completely okay! Over the past few weeks I've realized that it's awesome not being perfect (not that I thought I ever was by the way). All I'm saying is that if I was perfect I would be automatically the best at anything I tried, because, as I said previously, I'm fuckin' perfect man....... That's incredibly boring to me. There is nothing more I value in life than the experiences I have trying to better myself and adventure that accompanies. Most important of all its having to rely on God's guiding hand in all of my escapades. If I were perfect in this world I would not need the Lord. My relationship is strong because of this fact. I am fallen, THEREFORE, I NEED God. And in that relationship I am perfect. Not as seen by this world, mind you, but I am seen as perfect to God. 

I was actually given a very inspirational passage that pertains to this very situation by a friend of mine in a note I received on my last night in Columbus. The passage was Phillipians 3: 12-15, it says:

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you." (ESV)

I guess this verse serves as a segue to the conclusion of this blog, and I find myself returning to my very personable analogy from the beginning, that sloppy obstacle course. I now can picture myself geared up in my helmet and matching 'Double Dare' elbow and knee pads, readying myself for the biggest challenge my young life has ever faced. And as I complete each stage amass the undeniable slop, I put it in the past keeping my eyes ever focused on the end goal taking each obstacle as they come. And that's how I feel that we should live our lives. We start at the beginning of our lives/obstacle course, and we continuously face these hardships and aptly named obstacles in our lives. However hard they might be they can seem penetrable as long as we know what we're fighting for. What we are rushing towards. We should be sprinting towards Christ dealing with life in our best impersonations of Jesus as we can. Then we won't be dragged down by each obstacle because we can see the ever-present finish line.

For that reason, don't let the strive for perfection in this world rule you, for you are already perfect in the eyes of the Lord. Strive to be Christ-like, which is the human embodiment of perfection. And don't be discouraged that you can't achieve it, Christ is there as an unreachable example but also a sign of hope; that there is perfection out there and that perfection is our God.

Again I say, go enjoy life. And as my friend Jesse likes to say, "Go make stories and have barbecues!"

Thank you and God bless.