Scripture: Micah 7:19 – “He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (NRSV)
In my slowly advancing years, I have noticed that my manual dexterity is not what it used to be. I find it ever easier to drop things and to flail ineffectively to grab them again before they drop to the ground. Luckily my cellphone has multiple layers of rubber and glass armor, but my dishes are not so easy. A bit of slippery dish soap and there goes the bowl to the floor. Sometimes, the bowl shatters and must be thrown away, but many times, there is just a chip in the bowl.
Sometimes, I do not know which is worse. A shattered bowl is destroyed, but once gone it quickly goes out of mind. A chipped bowl will always remind me of the accident every time I look at it, even though it is otherwise a perfectly usable bowl.
But what about people? Is it better for people who are imperfect, injured, or “cracked” to just go away? When we look at ourselves before God, we tend to see our imperfections, especially the permanent chips and scars that never leave us. We figure that we can never be whole again, or perfect again, or pure again, and that God would probably be better off destroying and forgetting about us rather than be left with the constant reminders of how broken we are.
But God is not deterred by bruised or broken things. Instead, God redeems them. The Book of the prophet Micah speaks of a time when Israel had sinned against God, probably referring to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the elites into Babylon. But no matter how destructive or well deserved that disaster might have been, God still loved and cherished the people. The prophet promises that God will turn away from the mistakes of the past in order to ensure a glorious future for the people. Instead of the people, it will be their mistakes that will be forgotten or ignored. They will be forgiven.
I know that when a look at my chipped bowl or a scar on my hand or any other imperfection in my life, it can be very comforting to know that things and more importantly people can still be useful, valued, beautiful, and loved even when they are imperfect. It is just another of those daily reminders of how glorious God truly is.
Prayer: God, help me look past my imperfections as you do so that more light and love can come through me into my life and community. Amen.
Comments