“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48 NIV

Just Perfect, Part 1

Before I sat down to write this, I was fixing my hair. To the outside onlooker, I probably looked the same before as after I had made these minor changes. But I knew that if I had walked away from the mirror with a stray hair, it would have niggled at my brain.

If only I was as careful with my Christianity as I am with my hair. I believe that today’s church in America has a tendency to water down being a follower of Jesus.  What I have heard over and over is that we are saved by grace; stop and cue the feel-good music. We sing along because we like the feeling that feel-good music brings. We might even shed a tear. We leave church that day saying, “That was such a great service! Yes to grace!”

I don’t believe that Christianity has ever been as easy as it is in America today. The word “suffering” is associated with not having the extra funds to, say, buy a new pair of jeans or nail polish. It is easy not to turn our faces to our Father and Heaven when our needs are lavishly met.

But if we are followers of Jesus, we have to consider what following Him actually means. Even Jesus said in Luke 14:25-34 that before we choose to follow Him, we had better count the cost.  According to Jesus, we are supposed to “be perfect.” He didn’t add, “But I know that you are incapable of truly being perfect, so when you sin, coast on my grace, and I will overlook your lack of perfection in this area. It’s ok. You’re adorable, anyway.” No. He said, “Be PERFECT,” and followed it up with, “As your heavenly Father is perfect.”

In other words, there is no deviation from this standard. GOD is the standard. We should walk through our daily lives with an attitude that fears God, with a heart that weeps over sin. Yes, we are saved by our faith in God’s grace, and not by our works (Ephesians 2:8). But remember that once we are saved, God is in the process of perfecting us, and we should take that rather seriously.

It is hard to write this because my flesh doesn’t want to be held accountable for these words, either. But I cannot avoid them. So let us stop playing at church, and churchy things, and let us daily deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.  Let us remember that choosing to follow Jesus is a costly calling. (Hint: the cost is everything.)

You were never called to tolerate sin.

You were called to holiness.

Let me be clear: “Perfect” does not mean legalism, perfectionism, or control. I will explain this tomorrow….

Dear Lord Jesus, You have called us to be perfect. Please teach us what this means. In Jesus Name, Amen.