A Picture of Perfection

- Molly Gibson

In Wives and Daughters, when Molly Gibson goes to visit with the Hamleys, she fits in with the family well, and thinks of them as her own relations. She  gradually falls in love with Roger, the younger son of Mr and Mrs. Hamley, and he with her. But when her father decides to remarry to give Molly a mother again (though she objects), the daughter of her step-mother, her new step-sister, Miss Cynthia, comes upon the scene.
Cynthia is charming, extremely handsome, wild, and full of life. Molly is plain, but pretty in her own way, is quiet but loves deeply. They both love each other as sisters from the very first and enjoy each other’s company exceedingly.
But the moment Roger sees Cynthia any growing attachment he had for Molly seems to disappear.

- Mr Gibson and Cynthia

Like so many other good, decent men in the world, Roger gets led away by Cynthia’s beauty and charm. He remarks to his brother Osbourne one day that, ‘she is absolute perfection’.

But above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. – Colossians 3:14

Cynthia tells Molly: ‘I never have loved as deeply as you do for your papa, or anyone else. I have never cared for any one, I think you are the dearest soul in the world to me- even above mama.”
But here is the thing I got thinking when God gave me Colossians 3:14, Roger thought he was in love, Roger thought that this was the real deal, he had found the one, he couldn’t stop thinking about her, and thought her perfection.
But love is the bond of perfection, love- this is the love talked of in 1 Corinthians 13:4, the true love that suffers long, does not hate or envy, does not boast. The real love, this real love is the bond of perfection, the bond. Perfection is measured by love. But did Cynthia love him? No, she said so herself.

- Roger and Molly

Of course in the end, after a broken engagement with Cynthia, Roger comes to his senses of how much he loves Molly, and they are married at long last. But I was provoked to think about how this idea of perfection, today’s perfection is outward, it is ruled by imperfect girls, hiding their blemishes with make-up, plastic surgery, and digitial touch ups.

But above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. – Colossians 3:14

Perfection is not ruled by how low our top is, how tanned, how un-blemished, how skinny, how beautiful we are, real perfection is measured by love, true love. The only way to get that sort of love is through Jesus, and Jesus is the One who expels every sort of low-self esteem we have for ourselves. It’s not about loving yourself, its about loving others, loving God. He is the one that makes us beautiful, He is beautiful, and when He shines out through our lives in our actions and words, that’s what makes us ‘perfection’.

And if you thought of today’s hottest actress, would she measure up by Gods standard of love, the measurement and bond of perfection? Would she come out a jewel, or a piece of trash? A Cynthia or a Molly?

…for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7b

~ Meggie