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Be Perfect

             Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)

Has this command ever bothered you? Be perfect? Be as perfect as God? Jesus gave us an impossible task. Of course, some would claim that our heavenly Father isn’t perfect because He doesn’t do everything precisely as they think He should. That may be one thing we should keep in mind. Our being perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect doesn’t mean that we’ll be perfect from everyone’s point of view. In fact, we need to be careful, because our own ideas of perfection may not be perfect.

According to one resource, the Greek word used is teleios, which “conveys a sense of maturity, completeness, or attaining a goal.” (What does it mean to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48)? | GotQuestions.org) I’ve heard it described that a well-made screwdriver is a perfect screwdriver because it drives screws effectively, efficiently, and without damage to itself or the screw. A table knife, on the other hand, while sometimes handy as a screwdriver, tends to end up damaged in the process. On the other hand, a screwdriver could be used to spread butter on a piece of toast, but it wouldn’t do as good a job as a table knife, which is perfect for the job.

What happens, then, when the one who happens to be able to do what needs to be done effectively and efficiently happens to be a world-class failure or jerk? What happens when you know you’re a failure for many reasons, but somehow, you’re the one God seems to have chosen to use to accomplish something? The point is that you are not without flaws. The point is that your flaws either won’t matter or may even help. If nothing else, awareness of your flaws may keep you from thinking you are better than you are. But if someone needs a ride, and you can drive, aren’t busy, and have a vehicle, you might be a perfect choice to get them where they need to go.

Some of this makes me a little uncomfortable. There should be a standard for perfection. If I can’t put the standard and myself on the exam table, how can I obey Jesus by being perfect as the Father is perfect? Three ideas come to mind, all of which will make us more perfect. The first is being in a proper relationship with God. The second is being willing. The third is remembering that while God is perfect, perfection is not God. In other words, perfection isn’t really the point. God is. If you have God,  you have all you need even if you’re not perfect. If you see yourself as perfect, but don’t have God,  you have nothing of value.

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