Almost or Actually? Why We All Need God's Grace!
We all have stories about Grandma’s apple pie. Like clockwork, every Thanksgiving and Christmas, Grandma cranked out another masterpiece of golden pastry perfection for her eager and adoring family. One year, something different happened. The pie looked just as perfect as ever from the outside—golden crust, beautiful lattice work decoration on top, aromatic steam curling up from the glistening fruit filling—but the first bite revealed the truth. That year, Grandma’s hand strayed one canister too far on the kitchen counter, and picked up the salt instead of the sugar. Legendary track record and outer perfection did nothing to comfort our dismay - almost perfect is never actually perfect, and in the case of Grandma's pie, "almost" made all the difference between delight and disappointment.
A simple kitchen mishap illustrates a profound spiritual truth about our relationship with God. When it comes to obedience and faithfulness to Him, there's a vast chasm between "almost perfect" and "actually perfect"—and God’s Word makes it clear that God's standard is nothing less than complete obedience. In this morning’s Church Bible Reading Plan, we read Moses’ instructions to the people in Deuteronomy 27:1, to "keep the whole commandment" that he was giving them. Notice that word "whole"—not most of it, not the convenient parts, not even 99% of it. The whole commandment. This wasn't merely a suggestion for better living; it was God's requirement for His covenant people.
James 2:10 drives this point home with stark clarity: "For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all." Like a chain that's only as strong as its weakest link, our obedience is only as complete as our most glaring failure. We might excel in kindness but struggle with honesty. We might be generous with our money but harbor bitterness in our hearts. In God's eyes, partial obedience or even delayed obedience is disobedience.
Neither the apple pie debacle nor this spiritual reality should drive us to despair! Rather, they drive us to God’s grace. Romans 3:23-24 reminds us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
This is the wondrous paradox of the Christian faith: God's standard is perfection, which none of us can achieve, yet He provides the very perfection we lack through Christ. Our "almost perfect" lives are transformed by Jesus' "actually perfect" sacrifice.
This doesn't mean we abandon the pursuit of obedience. Rather, we pursue it from a place of gratitude rather than fear, knowing that our salvation rests not on our flawless performance but on God's flawless grace. Like Grandma's pie, our efforts may look good from the outside, but it is God’s grace and only God's grace makes them truly acceptable to Him. In Christ, our "almost" becomes "actually" perfect—not because we've achieved it, but because He has, “for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28b
Grateful for apple pie, and God’s grace!
Pastor Jamie
