Work for God and he will bless your work!
“IS PERFECTION POSSIBLE?”
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”
By: Rev. Dan Minor
Matthew 5:48
The above verse comes in the middle of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In that sermon (Matthew 5-7), Jesus talks about the importance of human relationships. This includes such things as such things as reconciliation with those who have offended us, speaking the truth, turning the other cheek, going the second mile and loving our enemies.
If that is not enough to live up to, He tells us to “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. We are relieved to learn that Jesus did not mean for us to be perfect in the sense He is perfect. That would be impossible. After all, He is the only perfect Person who ever lived on the face of this earth.
The word perfect in the Greek language means full grown, adult, complete or mature in our relationship with God and others. Instead of being petty, childish and immature, Jesus wants us to be like Him – loving, forgiving, and non-judgmental. In Jesus’ time, one of the groups which were so hard for Him to get along with was the Pharisees whose attitude was “Holier-than-Thou.” For example, Jesus used harsh words to condemn their attitude calling them hypocrites saying, “You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25).
Christian perfection is defined more in terms of moving toward Christ-likeness, with the central command being “to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… and to love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
On this journey of faith, there will be times when we stumble and fall, but God’s grace will always be present to forgive us and lead us forward toward our heavenly destination which will be perfect in every way.
In the meantime, we will move forward in faith believing the best is yet to come.
Prayer
Dear Lord, help me to be more like You. In Your strong name. Amen.
