Sometimes in our day-to-day life, we act as if the cross was not enough. We find ourselves riddled with trying to do more and be more than what we were meant to. In our quest to please God, we wind up spinning our wheels and falling short of where we are supposed to be…obeying his instructions. We forget about his provision, his protection, his guidance and his salvation.
When we try to live what we believe is the Christian life, we will find ourselves overwhelmed and under pressure to be perfect. When Jesus told us to “Be perfect even as our Father in Heaven is perfect”, I don’t believe he meant that we need to operate in perfectionism.
We fall short on a continual basis, finding ourselves operating in our own strength, striving to achieve what we believe is God's perfect standard. If we were able to achieve perfection on our own, then there would have been no reason for Jesus to die on the cross for us.
What I believe Jesus was teaching us when he said “Be perfect, even as our Father in Heaven is perfect”, was for us to grow into his standard of love, Agape meaning unconditional love.
We are not given a license to judge others. If someone has injured us, we must in Jesus name,forgive them and attempt to make things right. We need to be seekers of others good and not our own. This is the perfect love of God.
Perfect love is not something we develop on our own. We are selfish and self-centered as inherited through our flesh. Jesus came to give us new life so that we can operate in God's perfect love.
When Jesus took our sin, he gave us his perfect life in exchange. When we accepted Jesus, we became perfect in God's eyes. God can't love us anymore than he does right now. We need to focus on sharing his grace and love to others. As we do, our love will grow more perfect, we will develop his unconditional love for everyone. That is the Lord's standard of perfection.
Do you operate in unconditional love? Whose benefit are you seeking in decisions? Make the choice to love others with the same love that Jesus loved us.
“While we were still his enemies, hating him with all our heart He died for us” (Romans 5:8 paraphrased).
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