It Is Good to Be Thankful: Appreciation makes the world a better place…
I am thankful for the imperfections of godly people mentioned in the Bible. Hebrews 11 commends many for their faith, but not for their perfection—because they were not perfect.
Noah was a just man who walked with God, but got drunk (Genesis 6:9, 21).
Abraham followed God, but lied about Sarah being his sister (Genesis 20:2).
Sarah bore a son when she was old fulfilling God’s promise, but she laughed at the idea and even lied about laughing (Genesis 18:10-15).
Moses parted the Red Sea and led the children of Israel out of Egypt, but grew weary and angry with them (Numbers 20:10).
Joseph lacked wisdom as a youngster, alienating his brothers. Yet, God allowed him to deliver his family from famine (Genesis 37:1-10; 47:11-12).
Rahab shielded the Israelite spies, but she was a harlot (Joshua 2).
David killed Goliath and was called a man after God’s own heart, but he committed adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11; 1 Samuel 13:14).
These examples are not written to justify bad behavior or give license to sin. They just show us that all have fallen short—not just you and not just me. One day Elijah was calling fire down from heaven and the next he was running for his life in fear of Jezebel (1 Kings 18:20-38: 1 Kings 19:1-10). Why? Because he was human. Humans are flawed, imperfect beings. That doesn’t mean they can’t be dedicated, sincere followers of God. It just means they aren’t perfect.
We do our best to live for God, but make mistakes. To be brutally honest, our best is not good enough. That’s why we need God.
The Bible says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The word “perfect” here is “telios” meaning finished, full grown, mature, lacking nothing, or brought to completeness. It has nothing to do with making mistakes or not being good enough. When God speaks of perfection, He wants us to “be complete” by being spiritually one with His Son, Jesus Christ.
This kind of perfection is not designed to make us look good or perform flawlessly, but to let Christ’s life be manifest through us. It’s about becoming totally dependent on God and letting Him work through us—in spite of our imperfections.
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“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord...” ~ Psalms 92:1 (KJV)
