There is a newer song by Mercy Me called Flawless that reminds me of this old meme I did a few years back.

 

I love the lyrics and their phenomenal reminder that we can’t be flawless apart from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Check out the words to the chorus:

No matter the bumps

No matter the bruises

No matter the scars

Still the truth is

The cross has made

The cross has made you flawless

No matter the hurt

Or how deep the wound is

No matter the pain

Still the truth is

The cross has made

The cross has made you flawless

 

So why then do we strive so hard to be physically flawless? What’s the obsession with outer perfection? What do we do with that?

Our problem is no different than that of the Pharisees. We want to make ourselves presentable. We want to do enough good work to save ourselves.

We want to clean ourselves up–make ourselves presentable. For those of us who wrestle body image, we strive to be beautiful enough to earn love, attention and affirmation. We want others to think highly of us, to see our perfections, not our blemishes.

But, Jesus offers a kind of coverage that beats Mary Kay, Maybelline, and Cover Girl combined. Jesus frees us from the pain of trying to be perfect (or perfect looking) and offers us grace. All we have to do to be flawless, in his sight, is to accept His sacrifice for us and repent of the ways we’ve tried to make ourselves flawless.

Read this stanza from the same song:

Could it possibly be

That we simply can’t believe

That this unconditional

Kind of love would be enough

To take a filthy wretch like this

And wrap him up in righteousness

But that’s exactly what He did

Take a breath smile and say

Right here right now I’m ok

Because the cross was enough

 

The cross was enough.

Do you believe it?

If you do, then rest. Rest in the fact that wearing a smaller size, losing the baby weight, getting the boob job, or clearing up your skin isn’t what will make you flawless. If you want to feel truly free and confident that you are loved unconditionally, the secret is in focusing on Jesus’ sacrifice and great love for you.

We can’t make ourselves flawless enough to earn a place with Him. And, that should be good news for those of us who are always striving to improve ourselves.

We can rest.

Watch the video for Mercy Me’s song, Flawless, right here: