I once had a Bible study with high school seniors. One night we talked about how we should handle it when we “mess up.” I mentioned that the six words I had said most to my kids were, “I’m sorry, will you forgive me?” One of the guys stared at me in disbelief. Later he told me why he was dumbfounded: “My dad has never said those words to me!”
Unfortunately, his experience is not uncommon. We live in a world that applauds the façade of perfection. In reality, this side of heaven, we all have flaws—like plywood under fancy oak veneer. Yes, God is remaking us, but He won’t be done till we see Jesus (1 John 3:2,3).
I’ve found that authentically admitting our weaknesses is one of the most attractive, holy attributes that Christ-followers can exhibit. Many nonbelievers know and embrace that they are less than perfect and long to learn a God-designed way of dealing with that imperfection. If only we as Christ-followers were willing to live authentically and accept one another in our less-than-perfect state.
God says, “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word” (Isaiah 66:2). This means that we should strive for holy imperfection while still longing to be like Him. It means we’ll need to say we’re sorry sometimes, to admit that we messed up. The world will take notice.