HEAVENLY FATHER

“Therefore, you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Matthew 5:48

Perfect? As our heavenly Father is perfect? Gulp. Does Jesus’ statement cause you to take a step back, as it does me? What does He mean? It helps, as always, to take His statement in context. Jesus has been teaching the ways of God’s Kingdom; that they are different from our natural inclinations. For instance, in the verses prior to Him saying we are to be perfect, Jesus has said we’re to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?” Mt 5:47. So when Jesus says we’re to be perfect, He is not implying that we’ll attain sinlessness this side of heaven. Rather, He is saying that we’re to be “mature and complete in the likeness of God.”* The point? We have a heavenly Father and He calls us to mature and be like Him, not the fallen world in which we live. 

HEAVENLY FATHER, I praise You and Your high, kingdom, holy ways!

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*Charles Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible Expanded Edition, New American Standard Bible 1995 Update, pg 1521