We are all alike in that we are all beautifully flawed.
Since the fall of Adam and Eve, humans have changed. Most of us would not dream
of going around naked, but Adam and Eve did so without even a thought. I would
not even dare to go out in public most days without my makeup, because I almost
feel “naked” without it! They lived in paradise and walked and talked freely
with the God of the universe, unclothed and unashamed. They had nothing to hide
or feel ashamed about…that is, until sin entered the world. Then, we became
beautifully flawed.
We are born into sin and born wanting our own way…all the
time! We don’t have to learn selfishness because we are born that way
naturally. We have to learn to break away from what comes natural in order to
become the beauty that God created us to be. It is a life-long struggle, in
that none of us “gets all of it” overnight and wakes up one morning 100%
flawless. However, God uses our flaws to teach us we need more of Him and
others. He uses our flaws to help others see what they don’t want to be in
their own lives and to show us how imperfect we are and that we must look at
our own flaws before looking at the flaws of others.
Some of us are broken from life’s demands, mean/abusive
people, illness, death, loss, deep financial stress, etc. However, God can use
these things to make us beautiful to Him and others. We can walk alongside
someone else going through the same things we went through because we too have
been there. II Corinthians 1:3-4 says,
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in ALL our troubles, SO
THAT we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received
from God.” These things make us flawed, or as some people would negatively say
“baggage,” but in reality they make us more beautiful, in a flawed sense of the
word. If you look at a beautiful butterfly, for instance, and the color doesn’t
look quite right or the wings are a little off centered, we would not say it is
ugly but rather that it is beautiful, but has a slight flaw. I think that God
looks at each one of us the same way.
This is not to say we should maximize our flaws by any
means! Actually, we need to try to become more like Christ and we should grow
in such a way that we sin less and less (become less flawed) as the months and
years go by. If you are still struggling with all the same things year after
year, you are just flawed. But, when you allow God to use your flaws to help you
grow and help others grow, you are beautifully flawed.
Case in point. I absolutely love people and have always had
a big heart towards them. I lived to please people for many years. This was
because of the very abusive home I grew up in and the bullying I had to endure
while going through school too. I wanted people to love me or even like me so
much that I would let them treat me however they wanted to, even if it wasn’t right.
I let people use me as a doormat for years and never stood up for myself because
I wanted everyone to like me, no matter what the cost. Flaw? Yes. However, this
was a beautiful flaw in one way, in that I had a big heart for people and loved
them unconditionally; however, it was a bad flaw in that I never took up for
myself either.
Over the years, I gradually learned how to stand up to
people when they were taking advantage of me or being inconsiderate or just
plain mean and through this process, I learned to love myself more and saw
myself as more deserving than to be a free doormat to whomever wanted one. There
is nothing wrong with loving people and wanting to be loved in return and to
just want to fit in. However, it crosses the line when letting others treat you
like you mean little to nothing just to gain their “approval.” As I gained more
self-respect, acceptance and love for myself, I was able to put my foot down
when the need arose and said, “I will not let you treat me that way.” Of
course, there are times to show grace too, but sometimes you need to firmly let
people know that you will not be treated a certain way because you refuse to
let yourself be treated that way.
Thank God he did not leave me flawed, but changed me into
beautifully flawed. Thank God that he helped me see myself through his eyes and
that I have the strength and heart to still love others but to love myself in
healthy way too. I have come a long way, from being a person who loved others
so much but hated myself even more (I grew up thinking I was a big mistake). Gradually, I grew into a person who accepted
herself, beautifully flawed, then liked herself and thinking “yeah, I am a
pretty cool cookie,” to loving myself as Christ loves me, beautifully flawed.
<3