Who We Are
Profoundly imperfect--doesn't that describe each of us? And wouldn't
we all like that to be different? Too often we end up creating for
ourselves masks of perfection. Those masks both kill the soul and
wound the world. We would desire that perfection not only for
ourselves but also for our relationships, our church, our social
institutions, indeed our world. Because that is not so, we tend to
blame others; pointing outside ourselves, we tend to blame outward.
Not that we should blame inward, it is that we are invited to accept
responsibility for our mistakes and misdeeds, confess them and then
with open arms receive God's abundant grace. Having looked from
the "inside-out" we begin to see each other anew--flawed, imperfect,
sinful. But equally important we must not forget that imperfect
people and institutions can and do make very important life-saving
contributions.
--From the essay "Profoundly Imperfect"
by The Rev. G. LaRue Downing

Read the essay in its entirety.