Command 11 : Be Perfect | Day 77

Be Perfect Through Weakness!

The longing of the Lord Jesus Christ for our perfection is stated in His prayer: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us .... That they may be made perfect [teleioo] in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me” (John 17:21, 23). In every believer, God has put weaknesses that are designed to make us one in Christ.

Those who are unaware of personal weaknesses tend to show immaturity and self-sufficiency, but those who know their weaknesses depend on one another.

The ultimate expression of maturity is demonstrating God's love by the power of the Holy Spirit. This happens as God works through our weaknesses. Paul learned this when he asked God to remove his infirmity. Jesus answered, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Paul's response to Christ's answer was to say, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (II Corinthians 12:9-10).

The key to loving others is recognizing our weaknesses and our need for one another.

Vital relationships are based on the awareness that each party has need for the other. God designed the Body of Christ so that no one member could be self-sufficient. In fact, He gives special honor to those parts of the body that are unattractive. (See I Corinthians 12:24.) This also must be true of a marriage. A wife who wants to be self-sufficient damages the most powerful motivation in her husband, which is to care for and protect his wife.

A missionary in Ethiopia stood before a group of tribesmen who had become believers and challenged them to reach out to the villages around them. One man in the group felt God calling him to share Christ with an unreached tribe of fierce warriors. When he expressed this to the group, they looked at him in astonishment and disbelief. How could he possibly make the trip? He was lame in both legs.

He explained, "I will get to the tribe by using my arms to drag my body." The others told him it was impossible, but he felt so strongly that God was calling him to this tribe that he left one night without telling anyone. A year passed, and the group thought he must have died, but then they received an amazing report!

The man had in fact almost died from his difficult journey, but when the tribe he was trying to reach saw that he was crippled, they received him and nursed him back to health. It was the custom in this tribe to show great honor to those who were crippled because a crippled person had once saved their village. They listened to his message and many trusted Christ for salvation as a result. His weakness was the one qualification that God used.

Why not write in your journal about your weaknesses and how God's strength can be perfected through them.