Made to Fail?
When I get a gift I didn't expect, I feel special. But if I get it over and over again, I might not appreciate it as much as I did the first time.
But he was so merciful that he forgave their sins and did not destroy them; many times he held back his anger and did not permit his wrath to be roused. For he remembered that they were but flesh, a breath that goes forth and does not return. - Psalm 78:38-39
When it comes to forgiveness, God may just be too merciful.
It is as if He accepts our foibles because we are incapable of avoiding them. Why?
Were we built with inherent defects? Did he make us to fail?
This is one of the great paradoxes, isn't it? Why would God make us to be imperfect if He wanted us to be made in His image?
All children of God have this challenge to be good, to do what at times seems to go against our very nature, to strive for perfection. But we can't achieve what we strive for. Instead, we repent and we seek forgiveness.
Tonight begins the holiest, most solemn time in Judaism, the Day of Atonement. It is a time marked by sacrifice, when the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and ask for forgiveness for the people.
Fasting and praying mark the day and people abstain from all forms of pleasure.
Tomorrow in the Muslim tradition, some will be fasting as well and asking for forgiveness as they anticipate the celebration on the next day, Eid-ul-Adha, marking the day when Abraham accepted in faith God's command to sacrifice his son.
In contrast to the Psalm, which seems to make it sound like forgiveness is obtained easily, these holy days point to a deeper struggle. While we do receive God's grace, we do not obtain accept it without wanting to do something for it.
We seek it out, like a treasure.
In all things, we may fail, but it is not a flaw or defect in our construction. At least, that is not how I see it. I believe we need to be our own disciplinarians, and we can only be that if we can stand on our own and fall on our own as well.
Perhaps what we see as a flaw is really an attribute, a gift that lets us strive to be like the creator who made us, decidedly perfect in action, thought and word.
We Christians think that Jesus, in his divine-human composition, could not fail, but if we think that way, we ignore the human struggles he overcame, as well as those he demonstrated during his life.
We may not be able to be perfect, but we can take baby steps toward perfection by mending the fences, repairing the bridges and healing the wounds of life. Those we create and those we contribute to need our help to make whole again.
As we consider our brothers and sisters today and over the coming days, we can offer our own contribution to God, thanking Him for all He gives us, including the ability to fail.
Without it, how could we succeed?
More to come...