A mugshot of a pro golfer’s wife is plastered on the front page of an online news outlet. You can tell she is beautiful on a good day, but not on this particular day. Her face says it all. Stress. Breakdown. Crisis.

What happened? Life happened. High pressure, failure, unmet expectations, disappointments, fears, and the struggle to deal with it all.

We sometimes live under the illusion that some folks have it way better than the rest of us. From where we are standing, things look so much easier for them. Our life is a grind while there’s is a perpetual vacation, or so it seems.

But it’s not true.

No one’s life is perfect. No matter how good things look, how successful, how pretty or handsome, we ALL have in common a comprehensive need for God’s grace. Every day.

Even though the fall happened a long time ago, we still live in the same sin-cursed zip code as Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:17-19 sums up the challenge of life after Eden:

…cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; ¹⁸ thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.¹⁹ By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

The harsh reality is that “everything broke” in Genesis 3.¹ What was paradise before the fall is now painful and often incredibly disappointing. This doesn’t mean that everything is always bad, but it does mean that life is far from perfect. On some days, really far.

Regardless of income, looks, or abilities, we are all imperfect people living in the same imperfect world.

This is why the gospel of Jesus is so good and so hopeful. It is the silver lining around every hovering cloud. Even though our world is so messed up because of sin and even though our lives are so imperfect, we can always come back to these four gospel truths:

1. Our Savior is perfect – II Cor. 5:21
2. His grace is perfect – II Cor. 12:9
3. His love for us is perfect – Romans 8:35-39
4. His ultimate plan for our future is perfect – John 14:1-6; Romans 8:1

As I write this, over the last twenty-four hours a stray dog killed our baby ducks, making my children cry. The same dog bit my wife’s hand, making her cry, and then our pig escaped its pen, all of which made the kids very late for school. Looks like it’s going to be one of those days…

Life isn’t perfect now, but for those who know Jesus, someday it’s going to be. In the meantime, thank God for His grace.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.

¹Holsteen, N., Svigel, M. eds. Exploring Christian Theology, Volume II, Bloomington: Bethany House, 2015 (pg. 144).