Leading up to the Super Bowl, the sports world and beyond was very interested in the idea of a "Perfect Season" for the New England Patriots. Many rooted for the Patriots simply because perfection intrigues us. Others just wanted New England to succeed in their quest so we would no longer have to hear about the 1972 Miami Dolphins, but alas, the Dolphins legacy lives on...yet unrivaled in the 21st Century. Perfection...how elusive...how desirable... what a thought!
There has only been one perfect Person...almost everyone admits that...but here is one that will freak you out...Jesus said to His disciples... "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Think you will make it? To perfection? Did Jesus mean performance? Adherence to rules? Following the Ten Commandments? Never violating God's laws?
Well, if we could do that, Jesus would not have died on the Cross for us...and it is in that death that Jesus showed what His idea of perfection is. His death paid the price for my sins.When Jesus said, be perfect He was talking about love. He was saying that He wants us to love like He did. Read the words before "Be perfect":
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-48)
So this about love? Yes, God's love...His love that He demonstrated to you and I through the death of Christ on the Cross...He loved us when we were His enemies. God did that...and in doing so He conquered death, hell and the grave. Christ's command for perfection is about love...we are His ambassadors and how can we do that without loving others...even our enemies?
Well, if we could do that, Jesus would not have died on the Cross for us...and it is in that death that Jesus showed what His idea of perfection is. His death paid the price for my sins.When Jesus said, be perfect He was talking about love. He was saying that He wants us to love like He did. Read the words before "Be perfect":
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-48)
So this about love? Yes, God's love...His love that He demonstrated to you and I through the death of Christ on the Cross...He loved us when we were His enemies. God did that...and in doing so He conquered death, hell and the grave. Christ's command for perfection is about love...we are His ambassadors and how can we do that without loving others...even our enemies?
“How does love conquer? By asking not how the enemy treated her but only how Jesus treated her. The love for our enemies takes us along the way of the cross and into fellowship with the Crucified. The more we are driven along this road, the more certain is the victory of love over the enemy’s hatred. For then it is not the disciple’s own love, but the love of Jesus Christ alone, who for the sake of His enemies went to the cross and prayed for them as He hung there.”-Dietrich Bonhoeffer (hanged by the Nazis in April,1945)
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