“Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:12

Attaining Perfection

A perfect 10 in women’s gymnastics had never been achieved. It was so implausible that the Swiss timing company that constructed the scoreboards for the 1976 Olympics was told, “A 10.00 is not possible.” So, they only had one place before the decimal (9.75, 9.65, 9.50, etc.) like all previous Olympics before that. But when Romania’s 14-year-old Nadia Comaneci scored a 10 on the uneven bars, the officials had no choice but to put it up as a 1.0. There wasn’t enough space to indicate a 10.0.

Comaneci wasn’t finished, though. She did it six more times in various routines and won three gold medals. Her work to achieve perfection had been accomplished.

Although we can’t attain perfection here on earth, we should strive for it here on earth (as Paul alludes to in Philippians 3:12) and we should also strive for righteousness (as 1 Timothy 6:11, 2 Timothy 2:22 say) with the same determination and passion that Comaneci did. Even though it had never been attained, she strived for it—and attained it. Live in such a way so that you live godly lives here on earth. As 1 Timothy 6:11 says, “ But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.”

— BRETT HONEYCUTT

(Photo Credit: Jason Rasp)