Perfection

 I was playing piano at church today and talking to God. As I plunked out my melody on the keyboard...well, more about that. The pieces just weren't "clicking" this week. I'd practiced, of course (perhaps not as much as I should have, considering the results), but at home I'd been fine. I'd even memorized my pieces! And now, my fingers were...well, plunking instead of gliding. To add to the issue, they often plunked out the wrong notes as I squinted at the music I thought I had memorized.
So. Talking to God. Well, I was getting kinda upset, to tell the truth. I was like, "God, why do you have me up here at all? Look at me! I tried. And I can't even play the notes. Everyone must be wishing I wasn't even up here. I'm here to help people worship, and I can't even play the right chords."

But you know what God helped me realize? If I were perfect, I wouldn't need to be at church. I wouldn't need God's saving. I was are supposed to be there, at church, playing piano, at that moment. God had picked me to be playing for church, as He had picked each member of the band. And no, I'm not perfect, especially not when I play like that. But that's okay--actually, it's on purpose. It's God's purpose. When God picked the band for that service, He'd known I would miss a lot of the chords. But it still brought Him glory, because "[God's] power is made perfect in weakness."

Now, don't take this the wrong way. Don't go lounge around on the couch, fail your next Calculus test, and tell your mom that you did it to glorify God. But do accept that, when you work for God and give Him your best, you will still sometimes make mistakes. You will fall. And it's okay! No matter what you're doing.

As long as your heart is pure and you've been seeking God (in day-to-day actions as well as daily reading your Bible and praying), you can be assured that mistakes are God's way of working sometimes.

They teach us humility.

They teach us that God is holy and perfect (and we are not).

They remind us to not take Christ's sacrifice for granted.

They remind us that we, on our own, are weak.

They bring us closer to God.