A Perfect Heart?

After a long section of Jesus teaching things in the section of “But I say.” At the end of Matthew chapter 5 there is a seemingly very strong demand made by Christ to the people. Matthew 5:48 says, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” After this laundry list of laws and new laws, how can we ever be perfect in the eyes of God regarding these things? Let’s dig into the Greek for a moment. When Jesus says to be “perfect” the word in the original language is tied to the word teleios. Some may say I can never be perfect, so I won’t try. This word's idea in Matthew is to be whole, complete, and mature. So, what do we need to be perfect in the context of Matthew 5? Matthew 5 has much to do with how people are treated, valued, and loved. Therefore, we need to be complete and mature “as your heavenly Father is perfect.” So how do we begin to make our love more mature and complete? Look at some of the commands of Matthew 5. Verse 44, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Do you withhold your love for only those with whom you agree, with those who love you in return? Try and love without reservation and see what happens. When you begin to love your anger will lose its sharpness, betrayal will lose its weight, and your love will be made more complete. When Jesus tells us to be perfect like God it’s not to put an impossible task on us that we can never try to attain. What better person to model our love and action after than the one who sent His only perfect, divine, begotten son to be beaten and sacrificed for the sins of humanity? God in that moment showed us complete, whole, perfect love. Try to perfect your heart and how you love.

Try something new this week in the way of striving for perfection in how you love others.