Until Monday morning, 6th August, we are going to look at some extracts from my book.
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” (Matthew 5:48).
This passage has intrigued me for a long time. Who can be perfect? What did Jesus mean when He said it? Did He mean it literally?
The Greek meaning of “perfect” is a man of full age - mature.
Do we understand maturity? The average, balanced person starts off young, full of energy and ambition. While he is young and immature, life revolves around him. He enjoys achieving one accomplishment after the other. Even after marriage and having children, this is still his nature, but now he includes his spouse’s and children’s successes as part of his own. As he grows older, however, material things and performance become less and less important, and his spouse, children, and other people take higher priority. When the grandchildren appear, everything revolves around them. In old age, nothing but his interdependence on other people has any value.
A mature person demonstrates self-control—control over the tongue, actions, and emotions. Such a person is not influenced by what is said of him or to him. He is not controlled by circumstances or outside forces but only by the Holy Spirit. He allows the Holy Spirit’s control to be superior to his circumstances. If a friend tells a child she looks like a pig, she cries. A mature person just laughs at an insult, because he knows who he is in Christ.
Age does not always play a role in maturity. A person can be “of age” or mature at any age beyond the teenage years. Even a teenager can be mature within his group or in comparison with his peers. Someone can be in her fifties or even older and be completely immature. The point is that in this passage, the word “perfect” seems to mean “mature.” This perfection God looks for is all about His character, one of mercy and forgiveness.
Maturity consists of forgetting about oneself and focusing instead on the needs of others. A mature person has no personal or self-centred desires left to fulfil or bring to completeness. She is content with who she is and can focus her attention on others, displaying integrity and virtue.
God the Father is perfect, and so are Jesus and the Holy Spirit. God has nothing to prove. He is the perfect example of unselfishness in that He gave his only son to die for our iniquities. Ever since then, he has proved his maturity in taking personal responsibility for each of His millions of children twenty-four hours a day. Have you ever thought about the Lord’s personal interest in your life? If you are sensitive, you will hear the Holy Spirit’s continual guidance and warnings. My wife and I can give countless testimonies of times when we knew somehow that another driver was going to run a stop sign or traffic light, so we waited, avoiding an accident. Once I took some change from a wall safe. Because of the size of the safe, the moneybox had to stand on its side. I got the warning that it was open, but I didn’t think that was possible. Guess what, the next moment all the money was on the floor. Who warned me? The Holy Spirit.
If God, who holds the universe in the palm of His hand, takes such personal interest in the smallest aspect of each of His millions of children, and if Jesus could take such intense interest in His peers of the day, how much more should we take interest in the few people we see every day?
To be continued.
Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.
Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.
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