Matt. 5:48 Be perfect therefore, as your your heavenly Father is perfect. (NIV)
This appears to be an imperative from Jesus. He tells us to be perfect.
This follows on the heels of all the statements He made that elaborated on what was commonly thought. "You have heard it said...but I say..." He is telling us to be different than the norm.
How hard that is for many Christians!
That little connector word "as" could mean either "to the same degree" or "because He is."
To my mind, it doesn't make much difference. He began millenia ago by telling the Israelites that they were to be holy, because He is holy. I'm not convinced that the God who changes not (Mal. 3:6) has changed.
We seem to have a problem with that word "PERFECT." I get the impression that we are scared to death of it, because of its implications.
What do you think.
I will be continuing this topic for the next few days.
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Monday, February 25, 2008
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1 comment:
Hi~ The only striving that we are commanded to do in the Bible is to enter his narrow gate through the means of Salvation, and then to enter into His rest. (Heb 4:9-12) We need not spend time nor energy on trying to overcome the flesh nor on trying to earn God’s love. We don’t have to be good enough to deserve His love. God’s love is a free gift. We only have to receive it.
Jesus completed the work of our perfection on the cross. In Heb 12:2 Paul suggests that we focus on Jesus and follow His example. Jesus kept His focus on the eternal matters, and the earthly matters fell in line. We become fully and calmly aware of God’s presence within by simplifying our lives at the same time that we abide in His presence. Rather than working for God, we allow Him to work in and through us. ~ kat
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