Suppose there were two photographers, and one said, "I've traveled all over the world trying to find the perfect face to photograph. But I've come up short. Just when I think I've found perfection I see a flaw. I can dream up a perfect face, but I can't find one."
The second photographer responded, "I haven't traveled as you have. This little village is my world. I'm only an amateur photographer at best. But I find beauty in every face I see. No matter how flawed the face, I seem to see something beautiful in it."
Which is the better photographer? The one who can't find the ideal subject or the one who sees the ideal in every subject?
The first photographer requires perfection. The second brings something to the subject that allows him to discover beauty. The first looks through demanding eyes. The second looks through compassionate eyes. The first judges; the second discerns.
Love is like that. We want to love perfection. But when we can't find perfection or discover that the person we thought was perfect is flawed, then we try to love them in spite of their imperfections. A love we conclude to be noble and Christian.
Not so.
God doesn't love us in spite of our weaknesses, sins, and imperfections. Papa loves us with all our mess. He loves the person He sees.
We're asked to love the same way: "He who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" I John 4:10.
"The task is not to find the lovable object, but to find the object before us lovable--whether given or chosen--and to be able to continue finding this one lovable, no matter how that person changes." Kierkegaard
We're not asked to love the imperfection; we're asked to love the imperfect person. When we learn to love the person we see our loves grows. Only when we love the person we see, will we see the person we love.
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