Being Perfect

So here's a great mid-day, mid-week thinking question for you:

Matthew 5:28 says: "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Wow. Yes, wow.

So being perfect is a command given by Jesus. Are you perfect? Have you met anyone perfect before? So you agree, this is an unattainable goal. Then why is it in the Bible. Does it mean that we will never live to be what we are supposed to be?

Well, I went a little further into this verse. The word "perfect" in this passage is from the greek word "teleioi", which denotes "end", "goal", "outcome". So the verse is not saying that this perfection is a must although the word is actually a command in the Greek. The word is a outcome at some point of a goal. My translation is that we as Christians are to have a goal to be perfect, which we all know will only come when evil is vanquished and kingdom of God has come (when Christ returns). However you interpret this perfection, the bottom-line is that this is a demand for perfection (although we are not), and our goal is to be perfect.

It seems this day and age in the church, we settle for imperfection. We realize we have issues and that will never change, and we will never be like Christ. So why try for something we know we are going to fail at. Most people never deal with themselves because they know they are not perfect. I know I'm not perfect, nor ever will be. However, you or I cannot fall into this feeling that I cannot attempt to be perfect. 

This may not make sense to you, but I  hope it does. I am not saying you or I will ever be perfect. I am saying that this verse DEMANDS that we try, but yet knowing we are going to fail. I hope that also doesn't take the motivation out of it for you or I. The great part is that in the eyes of God, we are perfect, due to the fact that when God our Father looks at us, he sees Jesus. It is through the perfect blood of Christ that our sin is perfected into forgiveness and cleanliness from God.

Chew on that.