The Perfection of Love

I once read that no tree is perfect, and yet every tree is perfect.  Now, every time I look at a tree, I see that tree as imperfect and yet perfect.  In the same way, when I was working with a builder to design the "perfect" house, he told me that there was no such thing as the perfect house--and of course, he was right.  The house I now live in is not, in the objective sense, "perfect," and yet it is the perfect house for me. 

My husband is not perfect, but he is the perfect husband for me -- for he fits and overlooks my own imperfections, so I do not have to be perfect around him.  So, too, my children and my siblings and their families.  There is not one among us who is "perfect," thank God, so we can all relax and enjoy being around one another without fear of making mistakes.  We can laugh at our own foolishness and stupidities without fear of ridicule or gossip behind our backs. 

Last year, my daughter gave me a plaque that reads, "Good friends overlook your broken fence and admire your garden."  What a perfect way to say "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins" (I Peter 4:8).

It is my deep love of trees that causes me to see the absolute beauty of each one, no matter how mangled, gnarled, storm-damaged it might be.  When it puts out leaves in the spring, I almost dance for joy, for I no longer see the twisted and even sometimes dying core.  Even those trees I know have not long to live are beautiful in their "old age." 

One of the greatest gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit is love; it is one of the "fruits" or outpourings of the indwelling "Gift of the Father" in us:  the love of God is shed abroad (or poured out) in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5), and the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6). Now the phrase, "the love of God" actually has two meanings:  it can mean "our love for God Himself," or it can mean "God's own love for His children."  And both meanings are true -- the Holy Spirit in us generates greater and greater love in us for both God Himself and for other people. 

Fortunately, we do not have to wait for our families, friends, and neighbors to 'get their act together' before we love them beyond all measure.  Because of the fruit of the Spirit in us, not only do we love them in their imperfections, but our love, like the love of God, actually brings them to a greater perfection.  We never really overcome our weaknesses, but we grow by leaps and bounds by building on our strengths.  And love, seeing the strength of others, rejoices in them, just as I rejoice in the beauty of each tree, no matter how many 'imperfections' it may have. 

Yesterday, our neighborhood hosted a community garage sale.  As we sat together under my shaded carport, we all talked and laughed together in love.  The Spirit of God brought us together in love, no matter how many imperfections existed up and down the block.  No one considers him/herself better than any of the rest, so we can all live together in peace, will all of our idiosyncrasies and foibles. 

I see trees, and skies of blue...

and I say to myself, "What a wonderful world!"