Happy Monday!
A wonderfully relaxing weekend leads to today’s word-of-the-week…
PERFECT
I spent the past few days speaking at a retreat in Moab, Utah. It was a perfect weekend.
I’m thinking about “perfect” because of a particular scripture passage:
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”. (Matthew 5:48)
That seems a bit unrealistic. I understand God’s perfection, but how can Jesus possibly expect me to match God’s flawless nature?
The Greek word teleios, translated “perfect,” means “full, needing nothing for completeness.” It’s different than our notion of perfection which implies a total absence of defects. It’s more about being what’s intended and completely fulfilling a purpose. In The Message the same passage clarifies:
“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”
This weekend wasn’t free of blemishes. But it did complete its intended purpose.
You and I can’t avoid errors. We’ll fail and stumble.
But we can grow up. We can live generously and graciously toward others. We can strive to live out our God-created identities.
We can’t achieve perfection. We can seek to be perfect.
Have a great week.