Matt. 5:48

I heard this scripture in my spirit this morning. Who doesn’t want to be perfect? What does this mean? How do we understand this goal?

Let’s look at the context of these words Christ spoke as paraphrased by J.B.Phillips: “For if you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even tax-collectors do that! And if you exchange greetings only with your own circle, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do that much. No, you are to be perfect, like your Heavenly Father.

The Hebrew word shlemim is used here. It means “complete.” Yet, it has the association with how you love people who don’t really even deserve your love. Does God love them? Most assuredly, “YES!” Should we then, like Him, love those who don’t even deserve our love? In the same sense, “YES!”

Are you there yet? Probably not. Just let God’s grace open your eyes to love the unlovely He puts in your path. That’s a start to becoming perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.