Thought of the Day !!

But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

                                                                Matthew 5:48 (NLT)

Be perfect?  Did Jesus really suggest that we be perfect?  Yes.  He even went as far as to say to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.  How are we supposed to be sinless?  Is Jesus not demanding something that is impossible for us imperfect humans? 

Of course not.  Jesus wouldn’t burden us with something we could not do.  To understand this better, let’s look at this verse in its context.  Jesus is teaching about love.  He goes as far as telling us that we must love our enemies.  That would take some pretty radical love.  God the Father has this kind of love.  In the his letter to the Romans Paul writes that we were all enemies of God at one time.  Yet while we were still sinful enemies, God sent His Son to die for us (who were enemies).

Jesus teaches that we are to have perfect love.  And this is obtainable in this lifetime, otherwise Jesus wouldn’t have commanded us to love our enemies or love each other as He loves us.  When we love like Jesus, we put others before ourselves.  When we perfect love, we sacrifice ourselves for others.  When we’ve reached perfection, we have the love of God in us.

Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.

In the love of Christ,

greg