More perfect

I never looked up the definition of the word perfect until today. I was driven by a longstanding angst regarding certain uses of the word “perfect,” particularly in the preamble of the U.S. Constitution (“in order to form a more perfect union”). If something was perfect, I reasoned, how could it become more so? Hasn’t it already arrived if it can be called perfect?
What drove me over the edge today, so to speak, was a card I recently put up on my desk. It cites Jesus’ words in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
The question struck me afresh. How can that be? He is perfection. How can His power be made perfect?
So I looked up perfect in a dictionary, and didn’t have to get past the entomology to realize I have grossly misunderstood the word.

Perfect (pər-fikt) * adjective * Middle English parfit, from Anglo-French, from Latin perfectus, from past participle of perficere to carry out, perfect, from per- thoroughly + facere to make, do

Did you notice the root for the adjective perfect is not an adjective at all? Perfection is rooted in action – to thoroughly carry out, make, or do something.
God has innumerable attributes, and we know from His creation that He is not an indolent deity. He does not change, but I wonder if His perfection is a byproduct of, or another word for, the fact that there are so many facets of His character.
To put it on human terms, we tend to have certain characteristics. Very few people are truly well-rounded in all things; man tends toward extremes. But God has a funny way of bringing situations and people into our lives that challenge those extremes, whether our propensity is toward laziness or workaholism, friendliness or aversion to company. He also makes change a constant in all our lives. He built it into the way our world works: we are constantly surrounded by birth and death, by seasons, by age. By doing so, He shows us things about Himself we never would have otherwise known. He graciously gives us treasured times of rest that we want to last forever, but knows that we cannot be made perfect staying in one place. Similarly, He does not leave us forever mired in trial. He orchestrates all of life’s action toward the perfection of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
I suppose it’s natural to get frustrated because we’re not perfect. But it’s a heck of a lot easier to accept that fact when we realize that perfection, by its very meaning, is a process.
Maybe the Founders were on to something after all.