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Perfect (Again)

 

       “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. (II Samuel 22:31)

Yes, I know. The exact same words as yesterday, but a different reference. It’s part of a song David sang, and it’s included both in the history books and the “hymnal” of Israel that we call the Psalms. I chose it as the verse of the day because I realized that I didn’t clearly make the point that I wanted to.

Have you ever grabbed a table knife to insert or remove a screw, used a shoe to squash a bug, or a paper towel to funnel something into a jar? Have you used a rock for a hammer or (thanks to a friend for this one) a short-handled broom that requires that you bend over to sweep? None of these are perfect tools for accomplishing the task. There are screwdrivers and even power tools to insert or remove screws, fly swatters to kill bugs, and actual funnels. The handle on a hammer and the long handle on brooms are better suited to their jobs, converting smaller amounts of energy into more work.

But how often do we use things that aren’t designed to do what we want? They may show our creativity or resourcefulness, but they aren’t technically perfect tools. So when God selects a tyrant (or worse), a natural disaster, or one of us to accomplish a task, it’s not that He approves of the person or that the person is ideally suited to the task in a way that we’d approve. What it means is that this person is a tool that God can use to accomplish His goal. The only time God could be said to have actually used the perfect tool, He sent Jesus to live, die, and rise. All the rest of the time, He’s showing His creativity and resourcefulness by using “rocks” and “knives” to accomplish His will, and somehow, His will ends up done, though not as well as it would be if He used something made specifically to do that one task.

That’s good news for us, because we’re the make-shift tools that He uses. It brings to mind a song sung by Don Francisco decades ago: Balaam - YouTube Music

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