Let's Strive for Perfection!

Perfect: Having no defect or fault; flawless; accurate; absolute
Perfection: complete

The word “perfect” as the bible uses it of men, does not refer to sinless perfection, nor does the word mean that we are flawless or absolute. The Old Testament characters described as “perfect” were obviously not without sin, but as they grew into the knowledge of the truth, they began to walk in perfection.

In our quest for perfection, we are like plants. We start out in a seed stage, but through nourishment, we grow and become mature. In Philippians 3:12 Paul tells us, "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus."

We are NEVER going to be perfect while on this earth, Jesus is the only perfect one to walk this earth. God's law is perfect; His will and His way are perfect. Fortunately, He does not expect us to be perfect, even though that's exactly what we should be aiming for. Aiming for perfection means that each day, we are walking in the highest level of maturity and sincerity that we have grown into. In simplest terms, to walk at the highest level that we've grown into means that we have to "walk the walk." Some might even say, "once you know better, you do better." For example, once I come to understand that I must forgive in order to be forgiven, God expects me to be mature enough to do that; mature enough to aim for perfection. So no matter how many times I feel as if I’ve been walked on or walked over, I still must be mature and upright in my heart, and I must forgive; because God expects it and on my Christian journey, I must strive for perfection everyday.

It’s imperative that we achieve perfection in every area of our Spiritual Journey. The Lord wants us to be mature, upright, and sincere in our love, holiness, and patience and every good work. Maturity is achieved progressively, of course, which means that everyday we can strive for perfection! Matthew 5:48 tells us, "But ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (i.e. mature, upright)

The Lord knows that I’m not perfect. In fact, I often feel like I'm not where I should be in Him, but I thank Him because I’m definitely not where I used to be! As I feed daily in His word, I learn, and I grow. Every day I can practice striving for perfection, because He is going to make sure a situation will come my way that will give me the opportunity to show my level of maturity and/or sincerity. Thank God that He realizes that we are all WIPs - works in progress!!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen… and AMEN!