Embracing Imperfections

Below is an excerpt from We're Still In This written by Susan Goss. This book was carefully crafted with you in mind – to bring you practical tips and life-changing encouragement for any relationship.

Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins. (Ecclesiastes 7:20 NLT)

I love you just the way you are. Jesus loved people that way. He didn’t try to change them, guilt trip them, or shame them. He just loved them… plain and simple. To embrace each other’s imperfections is a great model to live by, isn’t it? Accepting the fact that we are not perfect helps us understand that others are not perfect either. This allows us to accept their imperfections and hope they will embrace ours as well. Not trying to change the ones we do life with is the key to opening our hearts for God to work in us. Allowing Him to do so creates a space to fully embrace them as they are. For Scripture lets us know that “we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way” (James 3:2 NLT).

Tangible Takeaway:

Sit alone with God and ask the following questions:

Do you find yourself being manipulative in relationships instead of embracing them at face value?

Are you trying to change others into who you want them to be rather than who God made them to be?

Learning to embrace the imperfections of ourselves and the people we do life with helps us to understand that “we all make many mistakes” (James 3:2 NLT) and “not a single person on earth is always good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 NLT). Ask God to help you accept others with open arms.

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