Slightly Irregular

Recently, I visited a department store in search of some linen for my bedroom. After exhausting about two and one-half hours, I stumbled upon some bedding that looked perfect. The colors matched my room, and the design was amazing similar to the one I already had. "Awesome" is the word I remember saying.

As I quickly gathered up the linens to carry them to the check-out counter, I glanced upon a label that read "Slightly irregular." Upon seeing that, I quickly put them down and proceeded to leave. It was as if the exactness of the pattern no longer mattered nor did the fact that the colors were strikingly similar to my own. The salesperson, noticing my look of dismay, came over and asked if she could be of assistance and I replied, No, thank-you. She immediately picked up the linens and replied, "The irregularity here is barely noticeable. I started to purchase these linens myself but they do not match my décor."

I thanked her once again and exited the store. As I hurried to my car, a thought came to my mind. What if God had thought the same about us? What if he didn’t care enough to send his Son?

Our lives were worst than just slightly irregular. We were destined for eternal damnation. Sure, we look good on the exterior, and probably say all the right things. We honor God with our lips, but our hearts are far from him.

We frequently seek the blessings in life, but make excuses for why we fail to seek the blesser. We say we love God but hate our fellow man. We abhor terrorism, but tolerate racism. We praise God on Sunday morning but bring shame upon him before sundown. We give, expecting to receive more in return. Worship has become a routine, instead of an act of righteousness. God has become a last resort, instead of our first-fruit. Instead of thanking him for life itself, we take it for granted until tragedy strikes.

Slightly irregular does not begin to describe what we actually are but thanks to a Sovereign God who looked beyond our demented surface and saw a possibility. Only a divine one could allow this world to exist in its present state. Only a supreme being with a plan for all of humanity could allow this to continue. Unconditional love could be the only answer for why we have not all been destroyed.

Yes, I was ready to put back the linen with the slight imperfection, but what about God’s reaction to Adam with all of his imperfections and to every man that would follow him? What if God had decided that since sin had entered the earth, there was no sense in having someone replenish it? What if he had rejected us like I did the linen?

To a loving Father, our imperfections are but the yarn he uses to spun miracles. Why? Because we see the present, God knows the future. We see what we are now but God knows what we will become. I Corinthians 13:12 declares, "Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now." (New Living Translation)

As long as we exist in this imperfect state, we will never fully understand why. But we have assurance that one-day we will be changed and taken away to be with the Father. Heaven is a place where imperfections won’t exist and slightly irregular will be a thing of the past. My hope for you is that you, like myself, will continue to seek God for divine guidance as we await his triumphant return. Jehovah Shalom (God, Our Peace) be with you all.

By Travestine J. Wright