In a puzzle filled with thousands of uniquely different pieces, could any one piece be considered imperfect? Could any one piece be labelled as “ill-suited” for the rest of the puzzle? Overlooking the rare exception which is an improperly cut piece, no single piece is ever anything less than perfect. In fact, in terms of puzzles, perfection is solely dependent on the complementary nature between that piece and the pieces surrounding it. It is this use of “perfection” that I am leveraging today.
My wife is perfect.
She is perfect in several ways. The first of which is done by the imputed righteousness of Christ, in which her imperfections and sin were replaced by his holy perfection and infinite righteousness.
The second way is that her uniqueness was divinely crafted for the purposes and good pleasure of a mighty God. She is perfect because, when in submission to her heavenly Father, she is what he intended. Perfection on such terms can be defined by God’s intended purpose. Her unique gifts and talents were designed by a deeply artistic and compassionate God and his character is revealed whenever she lives out his perfect intention. She is a perfect expression of attributes of God. This may look completely different for each person depending on the chosen purpose of God. No man, in the context of obedience to God, can call another imperfect.
The third way in which she is perfect relies on the puzzle analogy. In this case, perfection doesn’t not depend a single piece, but upon the relationship between that piece and those around it. My wife is perfect because she is a complimentary force contouring to my strengths and weakness just as I am to her. It isn’t enough to only say that she is perfect for me, because the extent of her perfection is far beyond that. We belong to the same puzzle, with which is unto the glory of God, and together we form two perfect compatible pieces. We are not at the center of such a puzzle, nor are its subject, but are two connected pieces in the presence of innumerable others comprising a beautiful picture of the goodness and magnitude of the Master. Her gifts strengthen all relationships around her and helps bind them more tightly together. When I chose her as a lifelong helper and companion, I did so by carefully examining her ability to be what I am not. An example is that she has philosophical perspective that I not only lack, but am incapable of seeing. Her ability to love, see the specific needs of others, and then fulfill those needs with Godliness, is something that I will never be able to accomplish, even when countless hours of training and education. Her relationship with God is dynamic and counter-intuitive to me. In its foreignness, I find great delight in discovering new and exciting facets of my King. Even when we diverge on issues, I am often astonished at how little of the grand picture I am able see and can make wiser decisions and form more concrete opinions due to my relationship with her. She is such a benefit to me that, though our marriage is still brand new, I leverage her perspective on nearly every decision I make and cannot imagine a life where that asset was unavailable to me.
In leading a woman so vastly different than I, yet so perfect unto God, I am compelled to seek my own divinely intended perfection. I pursue my creator, ever more fervently, because of spouse who chases the same savior with equal determination. For what greater perfection can a man and a wife have, than to be precisely designed instruments, used by God, for each other’s sanctification.
In case there was any doubt, my wife is perfect.