Keith Tyner
The headline read, “Perfect Pats”. It summarized of the 2007-08 NFL season for the New England Patriots. They amassed some amazing statistics during the regular season and were pretty well anointed the 2008 NFL Champions before the playoffs began.
Perfection is a goal for many and a destination for few. Think about it, the 2008 Patriots had arrived somewhere only three other teams had before. The 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears and the 1972 Miami Dolphins all had undefeated regular seasons. Amazingly out of this pack only the Dolphins managed to win the championship and complete and undefeated season.
But is an undefeated season the same as a perfect one? During that so called perfect season, Jim Kiick let loose of the ball 3 times, Mercury Morris had 8 fumbles and Larry Csonka only coughed it up twice. It would seem to the untrained mind that in a perfect season these three would have had zeroes in the fumbles category of their statistics. It would also seem as though the starting quarterback would have remained healthy and played all year in a perfect season.
Now that the 2007-08 NFL season is over, it is history that the Patriots failed in their effort for an undefeated season. The upstart New York Giants surprised them by winning 17-14. That three point differential is the variable that many pundits suggest will haunt the Patriots players the rest of their lives.
Maybe it is possible there is another source that will haunt people for less than perfect performance for the rest of their lives. Maybe it is possible to experience perfection, even when it feels as though we are in the midst of failure.
Perfection is a bad objective. There is only one source of perfection and it is not you. God sent His perfect Son Jesus to be our righteousness. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
What if you separate two components of your life; your being and your behavior? Your being came into this world imperfect due to Adam’s original sin. (Romans 5:17, 18) In other words, your perfect season was over before it began. Consequently, your behavior never had a chance; it only took a short time for your selfishness to be manifest into imperfect behavior.
Since your being was maligned by Adam’s original misbehavior, it is impossible to behave properly enough to ever equate to a perfect season in God’s eyes. So there is a gaping hole in the effort to achieve perfection. It requires supernatural intervention.
The difference between the Patriots so called perfect season and the one that got away was nearly supernatural. Giant’s quarterback, Eli Manning, was in the midst of Patriot defenders; one had his jersey and nearly pounded him to the ground. Remarkably, Manning slipped out of his grasp and hurled a massive throw. Giant’s receive, David Tyree, somehow wedged the ball against the top of his helmet and maintained control to set the team up for victory. It was a once in a lifetime play.
Perfection in life is the result of a once in a lifetime play as well. (Hebrews 10:12) At just the right time, Christ died for all. He was the fulfillment of prophecy. He came that we might have life and have it to the fullest.
Once one comes to agreement with the idea He was the perfect sacrifice, they can begin to grasp they will never be able to do so themselves. He converted our imperfect being to a perfect one by faith. You are saved by faith and not works, so you have nothing to boast about. (Eph 2:8, 9)
Your inner being was set to a state of perfection the moment you trusted in Jesus as the perfect sacrifice. At that moment, God’s Holy Spirit began a mighty work from the inside out, to transform your outer being (behavior) to begin to reflect the perfection of your inner being. If you are trying to gauge perfection by your behavior, you will always come up short of the mark. But if you measure it by Christ’s perfection, you will hit the mark. The Bible says, “it is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
There is a remnant in our physical being called the power of sin. It is satan’s false holy spirit or his agent of condemnation. This is the mechanism he uses to haunt you during your lifetime. It is through your thoughts where he condemns Christians and suggests they are imperfect and unacceptable to God. John 10:10 suggests he comes to steal, kill and destroy. It is through these lies he strives to haunt you forever.
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are perfect. Your behavior is not a complete indicator of your perfection, but will begin to look more and more like the One who lives in you.
Don’t let the evil one keep you in a desperate place just because your behavior falls short of the mark from time to time. It is the Savior who covered that shortcoming on your behalf and He is the one working in you. And as the apostle Paul said, “I am confident of this very thing, He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
That is way better than 18-1!
Keith Tyner
Perfection is a goal for many and a destination for few. Think about it, the 2008 Patriots had arrived somewhere only three other teams had before. The 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears and the 1972 Miami Dolphins all had undefeated regular seasons. Amazingly out of this pack only the Dolphins managed to win the championship and complete and undefeated season.
But is an undefeated season the same as a perfect one? During that so called perfect season, Jim Kiick let loose of the ball 3 times, Mercury Morris had 8 fumbles and Larry Csonka only coughed it up twice. It would seem to the untrained mind that in a perfect season these three would have had zeroes in the fumbles category of their statistics. It would also seem as though the starting quarterback would have remained healthy and played all year in a perfect season.
Now that the 2007-08 NFL season is over, it is history that the Patriots failed in their effort for an undefeated season. The upstart New York Giants surprised them by winning 17-14. That three point differential is the variable that many pundits suggest will haunt the Patriots players the rest of their lives.
Maybe it is possible there is another source that will haunt people for less than perfect performance for the rest of their lives. Maybe it is possible to experience perfection, even when it feels as though we are in the midst of failure.
Perfection is a bad objective. There is only one source of perfection and it is not you. God sent His perfect Son Jesus to be our righteousness. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
What if you separate two components of your life; your being and your behavior? Your being came into this world imperfect due to Adam’s original sin. (Romans 5:17, 18) In other words, your perfect season was over before it began. Consequently, your behavior never had a chance; it only took a short time for your selfishness to be manifest into imperfect behavior.
Since your being was maligned by Adam’s original misbehavior, it is impossible to behave properly enough to ever equate to a perfect season in God’s eyes. So there is a gaping hole in the effort to achieve perfection. It requires supernatural intervention.
The difference between the Patriots so called perfect season and the one that got away was nearly supernatural. Giant’s quarterback, Eli Manning, was in the midst of Patriot defenders; one had his jersey and nearly pounded him to the ground. Remarkably, Manning slipped out of his grasp and hurled a massive throw. Giant’s receive, David Tyree, somehow wedged the ball against the top of his helmet and maintained control to set the team up for victory. It was a once in a lifetime play.
Perfection in life is the result of a once in a lifetime play as well. (Hebrews 10:12) At just the right time, Christ died for all. He was the fulfillment of prophecy. He came that we might have life and have it to the fullest.
Once one comes to agreement with the idea He was the perfect sacrifice, they can begin to grasp they will never be able to do so themselves. He converted our imperfect being to a perfect one by faith. You are saved by faith and not works, so you have nothing to boast about. (Eph 2:8, 9)
Your inner being was set to a state of perfection the moment you trusted in Jesus as the perfect sacrifice. At that moment, God’s Holy Spirit began a mighty work from the inside out, to transform your outer being (behavior) to begin to reflect the perfection of your inner being. If you are trying to gauge perfection by your behavior, you will always come up short of the mark. But if you measure it by Christ’s perfection, you will hit the mark. The Bible says, “it is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
There is a remnant in our physical being called the power of sin. It is satan’s false holy spirit or his agent of condemnation. This is the mechanism he uses to haunt you during your lifetime. It is through your thoughts where he condemns Christians and suggests they are imperfect and unacceptable to God. John 10:10 suggests he comes to steal, kill and destroy. It is through these lies he strives to haunt you forever.
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are perfect. Your behavior is not a complete indicator of your perfection, but will begin to look more and more like the One who lives in you.
Don’t let the evil one keep you in a desperate place just because your behavior falls short of the mark from time to time. It is the Savior who covered that shortcoming on your behalf and He is the one working in you. And as the apostle Paul said, “I am confident of this very thing, He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
That is way better than 18-1!
Keith Tyner
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