TILTED FLOORS

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES  by Sally Bair

Tilted Floors

Since my body is beginning to require more upkeep than the gardens and lawns of my country home, I sold my home and moved into town. The change is easier both on my budget and on my body.

As with any change, however, there are trade-offs. I already miss watching the wild critters that visited my country home, but enjoy living closer to other people. My new, relatively quiet neighborhood has nice neighbors. The upstairs tenants are quiet. I don’t have to shovel or mow. My apartment suits my needs. I’m comfortable here. 

As in all houses, not everything is perfect in my new apartment. The house is old and the floors tilt. My desk drawers slide shut when I want them to stay open. The bookcases are leveled with shims. The desk chair tries to roll me to places I don’t want to go.

When I think about these imperfections, I laugh because my crooked apartment is so much like life. We are riddled with flaws and idiosyncrasies in body, mind, and personality. None of us is perfect. Sometimes we can even laugh about our imperfections.

We might compare tilted floors to our spiritual lives, too. We struggle with poor judgments, bad habits, and sinful deeds every day. The best of us are stuck with imperfections. Mozart not only made mistakes on the piano, he is said to have lived an immoral life. Miss America may be beautiful, but she may also be judgmental. Famous leaders often become prideful, or worse. None of us will ever attain perfection in our lifetime.

There is hope for us imperfect beings, however. Jesus’ death and resurrection allows us to become “perfect”—that is, complete and mature—in Him. Paul’s mission was to preach and teach people so he “may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” (Colossians 1:28) We who will believe in and love Him with our whole heart, soul, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves, will know spiritual perfection. But our bodies and minds will remain flawed, unevenly tilted. “But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.” (1 Corinthians 13:10) No doubt this verse refers to Christ’s second coming when everything will become perfect—without tilted floors. There will be no more imperfections in our body—our physical home—and no more sin.

Lord, thank You for accepting us in our imperfect form and making us complete and mature through Christ, who resides within us. Thank You, too, for Your promise of total perfection when we meet You face to face. In Jesus’ name, amen.