Perfect, Perfection Problems

 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”  Matthew 5:48.

When trying to interpret what it means to be perfect, we often fail to consider the phrase, ...even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.  If God is perfect, and I believe he is, then everything about him is perfect.  

For humanity, the statement of being perfect is a conditional process that helps us to move toward perfection.  We can be “perfect” in some things, while not being even close to perfect in other things.  God is perfect in all things and that means he is consistently perfect in all that he does.  God, therefore, is unchanging and does not need to change, because he is perfect.

The very notion of Gods’ perfection confuses man, who looks to a god that needs to change based on the perception of man's limited mind and ever-changing circumstances.  We prefer a God who changes for us, rather than us changing to become like God.

Regardless of your current level of belief, there either is, or there is not a God.  Debating the issue is superfluous, there is no way to prove the existence of God.  For those who have faith, God is real and the life that comes from that faith can be ever-expanding and fulfilling. 

That belief supersedes all else and introduces man to a life filled with the possibility of perfection and eternal life, while those without faith in God do their best to make their lives worthwhile and meaningful.

I have a belief in God and I am filled with gratitude for the perspective that faith provides.  

Others may not believe, and they are also grateful for their lives, but without a supreme being, or a focus for our faith, where is their drive toward perfection?  Why would you want to strive to be perfect if, after all the efforts to achieve that lofty goal, you simply died?

Some will call me a simpleton for even believing, let alone pursuing perfection based on an unprovable concept of faith, propped up by ethereal meanderings like prayer or feelings, but who is to say that my pursuit of perfection is any different from another’s pursuit of happiness, or joy, or any other emotionally charged feeling that drives men to act positively and for the good of others?    

I guess the real question is why do we want to improve?  What drives us to do better, to be better?  What motivates us to want to do good things, to look at life with gratitude, being thankful for what we have as opposed to complaining about what we do not have?

I think it’s the light of Christ.  I think it’s God and I for one am thankful for that understanding, even if it a misguided hope, at least I have a hope that helps me move toward perfection.  I will never make it completely but that hope of one day finding my way is all that I need right now.