I may not have a perfect voice
But I'll still sing at the top of my lungs
Until my days are done
I was once a child with a million plans
Now all I've got is what's in my hands
I don't leave much to chance these days
I may not ever see a dime but I'll be fine
Yeah I still get by
All the time a smile upon my face
You might see me on the corner with a cup someday
And I'll smile and wave
And say "God bless you for your change today"
Whoa oh whoa oh oh oh
I may not be a perfect man
But I'll still stand
Yeah I'm counting on grace
I may not sing your favorite songs
But I don't sing for you
Cause if I did
I would have been gone long ago
Whoa oh whoa oh oh oh
I may not have a perfect voice
But I won't lie
I'll sing until I die
Cause I may not get the chance another night
Whoa oh whoa oh oh oh
I'm gonna sing it out
At the top of my lungs
Anyone who read any of my previous posts knows that I love to reference music in my blogs and writings, especial music from The Classic Crime. Well, what do you know? The above was another masterpiece written by one Matt McDonald of The Classic Crime.
"[F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
Romans 3:23-24
So what in the world does this song and this verse have to do with one another? Well, the first part is obvious. None of us have a perfect voice. Our voices, our testimonies are tainted by the sin that has ravaged the world since the early hours of man's existence. I know over the past several months, my testimony as a Christian certainly hasn't been a mirror image of Christ himself. This first semester of my senior has been filled with so many things that tell me I have no reason whatsoever to look into the face of my Creator and sing his praises.
I find it so easy to get caught up in my circumstances, as we all tend to do. We tend to beat ourselves up over our sin, our lusts, our failures. We feel abandoned when our finances collapse, when our relationships break apart, when we are left to process our inequities. These things have driven me into such a depression that I've forgotten who I am. I continue to ask my self so many questions. What if I had driven myself harder in life in general whether it be sports, ministry, school, relationships? Would I have been more athletic? Would I be at an Ivy League school studying medicine? Would I have a girlfriend? These "what if's" only bring me back to reality- I am surviving rather than thriving. I am out of shape and certainly not headed for a million dollar paycheck in the NFL. I am stats major at UNC (really not that bad but compared to what I feel I'm capable of...) with a pedestrian GPA. And of course I'm 21 and have never been in any sort of relationship. I don't fit my own idea of perfection, and it hurts. It drives me further into depression. Just the fact that these issues which have no eternal significance whatsoever are driving me to depression is enough to prove that I definitely fall short of the glory of God. Seriously, how can I share in his glory and desire him fully if these things weigh so heavily on my heart? When God's highest command and standard of perfection is to have no other God's or Idols in our lives, it is plain to see we fall short.
So why then does Matt say that he will continue to sing without a perfect voice or a perfect testimony? Verse 34 says, "...and are justified freely by his grace..." The blood of the perfect and spotless Lamb, Jesus Christ, is enough to cover our sins. It was enough for the Son of God to die the death we deserved to remove all inequities. When the Father looks upon us, he does not see our sin stained hearts but the blood stained cross upon which all his wrath was spent. He does not see that I am so caught up in trying to attain my standard of perfection. He only sees that his holy Son attain the absolute standard of perfection and chose to die in our places. He sees that his Son was resurrected three days later providing the ultimate defeat of death. He knows that, "Whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)." So because of that, he chooses to lavish love upon us as if we were each his perfect and holy sons and daughters (1 John 3:1).
That my friends is why we can echo Matt in saying, "I may not ever see a dime but I'll get by, all the time a smile upon my face... I may not be a perfect man, but I'll still stand..." We can sing out our broken testimonies and praises at the top our lungs. All because the perfect Son shed his blood for an imperfect world. Therefore, rather than dwelling on my sufferings and my failures, I will sing...
