Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48
In perfect Jesus-style, Yoda said, “do or do not. There is no try.” In perfect Godly-style, Jesus said, “be perfect.” Take that, Yoda. In concluding Matthew 5, this most consequential of all the chapters in the Bible, Jesus tells us to be perfect: something we are blatantly incapable of being; I mean, duh! But that’s where you’d be wrong.
Jesus isn’t telling us to be God: He’s telling us to fully set our minds on God in everything we do. To radically shift our focus from ourselves and this world to the one who made both and to be as He is: focused only on love, holiness, righteousness, and serving. In other words, to be like Him (while not actually being Him). In other words, Jesus is telling us to be perfect because our Father is perfect.
This isn’t anything new. It goes back to the time of Moses, when God dictated (what became) Leviticus to him. Leviticus, as a whole, is a basic guide to living a holy life. It told the Israelites how to live in ways that were holy so as to reflect God’s holiness. In Leviticus 19, God said, “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” That same God spoke through His Son, part of the holy Trinity, in giving that same command thousands of years later.
And thousands of years after that, He’s still speaking it to us. Be holy. Be perfect. Be perfect because our Father in heaven is perfect and holy. Not tomorrow; don’t try. Be. Be perfect and holy now.
But but but that’s a tall order! “We’re sinners and we can’t be holy!” That’s true. On our own, without Christ, we can’t be righteous, holy, or perfect. Without Christ, we have zero chance because we are sinful, we do sin, we have sinned. With Christ, however, we can live in His perfection. Our sins aren’t held against us; our life inclination can change. Again, remember that Jesus isn’t telling us to be Him (as if we could). Instead, He’s telling us to be perfect LIKE Him. Stop giving in to the temptations; refocus our thoughts; repent and live humbly; share forgiveness and love. Jesus was perfect and lived in these ways. Our being perfect requires us the same.
Why not do it today? We don’t have to try to be perfect: we get to be perfect because our Father is perfect and gave us His perfect Son. Jesus opened the way to be with Him; why not take the first steps today? To paraphrase the little green guy (who sort of echoed Jesus), in this, there is no try. Do. Do it now.
For more reading: Leviticus 19:2, 1 Peter 1:16, Matthew 6:1
Lord Jesus, on my own I can’t be perfect. With You living through me, I can be perfect. Teach me and live in me today.
Practical Proverbs 