December 27 Perfection: In the Eye of the Beholder

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.James 1:17 (NIV)

As a child on our farm in Pennsylvania, I loved the hunt for our Christmas tree. While my family crunched through the snow, we reviewed the criteria for a perfect tree: lots of branches, real tall, not too wide and only one top. Perfection was never our family’s forte.

Every year we had to trim our “lots of branches” and chop at least three feet from the top to fit through the door. After wedging the tree between slabs of wood in a coal bucket, Daddy anchored it to the walls with ropes to make it stand straight. Each homemade trimming from past years adorned our tree, including three or four stars for the tops. We finished by throwing silver icicles onto the already heavily ornamented branches.

“Come see our tree,” we begged our cousins. “It’s the most perfect one ever.” Every year, they braved the icy roads to see yet another dancing Christmas tree with one branch here and another there. They took pictures and went away with smiles on their faces. I thought our perfect masterpiece made Christmas more special for them.

Today, I know perfection is not on this side of heaven, but, one day, I will see true perfection in my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Lord, this Christmas, may we see a foretaste of Your perfection.

Judy Sheer Watters