No One Is Perfect In This World… This devotion has been swirling in my brain for quite a while as I muse on perfection. In our society today, perfection is like a golden nugget—nothing can touch you. People love to judge others about how they look, do they have a disability, etc. I never heard Jesus tell me that I should stay away from ‘those people’. Yet, in our time, it’s easy to laugh at someone who is hurting, or someone who has problems. Why do we do that? I can tell you one reason from the Pew Research Center. Their research is not so much about perfection, but how sad our life and thoughts take us and others down to nothing—think on that and read this story…

In 1939 (true story) about a British factory worker and his wife. After many years of trying to become pregnant their prayers were answered. They were so excited when their doctor told them “You are going to have your very first child!” They couldn’t stop sharing the good news saying “we’re going to have a baby!” He said to his fellow workers at the factory “God had answered our prayers for a child.” But get this—his coworkers made fun of him for asking God to give them a child! Then they said “do you even know what to do with a child?”

Such awful words, but that couple were not going to lose their joy. They knew what God had done for them. When the baby was born, he was diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome. The father made his way to work for the first time after the birth, wondering how to face his coworkers—he knew they would chuckle and laugh at him. So he prayed: “God, please give me wisdom.” Just as he feared, some said mockingly, “So, God gave you a broken child?!” The new father stood for a long time, silently asking God for help. The heckling stopped when he said loudly: “I’m certainly glad the Lord gave this child to me and not to any of you!” His workers just dropped everything; many started to cry, and many stood up and apologized. In a couple months, they brought all kinds of things for the child—whose name was David. The entire workplace not only learned about perfection and deep hurt, but they learned about Jesus from that family. Reminds me of those words: “a child will lead us.”

King David had a heart for such things like this. He asked:
“Is there anyone left in Saul’s family? I want to show God’s kindness to this person.” Ziba was a chief servant in the household of King Saul and he said to King David, “Jonathan has a son still living. He is crippled in both feet.” 2 Samuel 9:3 [ERV]

As this couple accepted their disabled son, they knew it was God’s gift to them. Like David, he was pleased to show kindness to Jonathan’s son— Mephibosheth whose feet could not carry him and he was only five years old with no family. Some rejected Mephibosheth because he was lame, but David’s action showed that he valued him greatly. He loved this young man and Ziba said he wanted to take care of the boy. So, David restored Saul’s inheritance to Mephibosheth. He let him live with Ziba in his palace in Jerusalem. Would you weep for this young disabled man and help him? David’s care in helping Mephibosheth gave him a new life. God does that to us too! When my parents wanted to have a child, it didn’t happen so they adopted us. They believed that ​if a child was born to them or adopted ​it was their child! Such love…they adopted not just one, but two very lively girls! Their love lives in us always and we share their love with others.

Our sins have mangled our appearance in the eyes of God, yet God’s love for us says: “Your iniquities are gone my precious child.” And it’s by that same grace that we show kindness and acceptance to others when the world rejects them. Show kindness and have acceptance for others. Kindness came from only one person: Jesus our Savior, AMEN!