Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect . . . —Philippians 3:12
It is a difficult, but crucial point, to recognize that God doesn’t want to make us perfect — God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him.
But doesn’t Christ say to be perfect even as the Heavenly Father is Perfect? When you start talking about perfection, people immediately become very uncomfortable. None of us are perfect, as in flawless. We all make mistakes, we all do and say things we are sorry for. So what is the perfection our LORD is referring to in the above verse? We see the translation for perfect is: complete, of full age. How do we come to completion? How do we arrive at full age, or maturity? We grow up in Christ. We die to our flesh, our carnal thinking and reasoning, and learn to live totally under the guidance of the Spirit of God. That is why Christ gave His life for us. He paid the price for mankind to have the opportunity to become fully reconciled to the Father. When we think of perfection as an unattainable goal, we are rejecting the truth of what Jesus’ sacrifice bought and paid for.
Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life. I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.
Nick
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