Be Perfect! Seriously?

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount 

June 10, 2024

Be Perfect! Seriously?

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

Matthew 5:48 

Seriously? I wonder if Jesus was smiling when he said that. Maybe he gave a wink and said, “Just kidding.” No, I think Jesus was very serious. Jesus’ statement seems like such hyperbole that we are tempted to pass over it. In truth, we know we can never measure up to this standard. Then, we remember something else Jesus said: “Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26). OK then, if raising us up to a level of Godly perfection is within the realm of possibilities for our Heavenly Father, perhaps we can look at Jesus’ examples of behavior that reflect the heart of God.

Jesus’ teaching on anger, marriage, and our relationships with others (Matthew 5:21-48) can all be traced back to his beatitudes. God is seeking to form Christ within us, to replace our narcissistic, self-absorbed hearts, with hearts of compassion that have love for our neighbors and enemies alike. The first step in this process is to know ourselves. As we truly grieve for the ways our natural instincts are the opposite of the life in Christ, we can begin to hunger, to long, and to thirst from the depths of our souls to be made right with the God of all creation. As we do, the words of scripture liberate our souls: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Now we can shout it from the rooftops, “With God everything is possible.”

My Takeaway: As we live in the reality of our right-standing with God, we express the merciful, forgiving, reconciling will of God. This is living our life in Christ; this is being perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect.

Sē’lah

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.