I Don’t Have to Be Perfect. God Already Provided the Perfection

I was listening to Tara-Leigh Cobble today, Day 51, Leviticus 22–23, and she said something that hit me right in the chest. She talked about how God only accepted perfect sacrifices back then, and how that kind of hurt her feelings. Because even the best version of us is still not perfect. And honestly, I felt that.

We’ve all seen how people in sometimes twist that idea. “Bring God your best.” “You’re not dressed appropriately.” “You’re not serving enough.” “You need to do more.”

But what if that was their best? What if showing up tired, messy, or imperfect was all they had that day?

And then Tara-Leigh reminded us: we are not the perfect sacrifice, Jesus is. God never asked us to be spotless. He provided the spotless One Himself.

That’s when I got emotional.

Because think about it, God knows exactly how sinful we are. He knows how much we crave the world. He knows how ungrateful we can be. He knows how often we forget Him, ignore Him, or take Him for granted. And yet He loves us so much that He sacrificed His only Son so we could have eternal life.

I’ve said it before: I can’t imagine sacrificing Jordan for anything or anyone. But God did that for people who deny Him, disrespect Him, and don’t appreciate Him.

Jesus gave up royalty. He gave up heaven. He gave up perfection. He gave up being the King to be born in a manger, to poor parents, surrounded by animals. He came here knowing He would be mocked, beaten, spit on, flogged, and crucified by the same people He came to save.

And He still did it. 

He carried the cross we nailed Him to. He endured a death we deserved. He gave up everything so we could have eternal life.

Nobody will ever love us like that again.

And then Tara reminded us of the scripture: “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Romans 5:20

For every one of my sins, grace abounds. For every one of my imperfections, grace abounds.

And the very next verse says:

“As sin reigned in death, grace also might reign, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:21

Praise God for providing the perfect sacrifice. Praise God for Jesus, that he was perfect so that I don't have to be.