tagged 
perfection
perfection Monday's Meditation: That Jesus--such a kidder!
Monday, June 28, 2010 at 11:38AM
I spent some time this morning looking for the verse that says “Nobody’s perfect.” I couldn’t find it. Now wait, I know you’re expecting the Sunday-school answer (“Jesus is perfect”) but before you click away to the next blog I want you to know I wasn’t thinking about Jesus. I was thinking about you and me.
What about it? Why aren’t you perfect?
The time-tested answer usually comes from verses like Romans 3:23 (“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”) or Paul’s creative use of the Old Testament just a few verses earlier at Romans 3:10 (“There is none righteous, no not one.”) But I’m not asking about sin, God’s glory, or even righteousness. I’m asking about perfection.
The purpose of the Monday Memo is to provide a meditation for the rest of the week. May I suggest we could meditate on perfection without resorting to Cliches, chapter one, verse 29? Consider these startling verses:
- “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5: 48) That Jesus--such a kidder!
- “Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you.” Philippians 3: 15 Apparently Paul was in on the joke.
- “And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1: 4) James--Jesus’ half-brother--also inherited the family sense of humor.
So here’s today’s meditation. It’s enough to last at least a week:
What is Jesus’ idea of “perfection?”
Why is his standard higher than that of the Scribes and the Pharisees?
Does God have expectations of those who claim to follow Jesus?
Could God be really be serious?
And me--will I settle for cliches, or meditate on mind-blowing inspiration from the scripture?
Reader Comments (14)
Great stuff as always. Perhaps we mix up the starting point with the in progress/destination status for Christians. In other words, we all start out imperfect and in need of God's grace. However, we make the mistake of saying that we aren't perfect when we should be mature once we've been empowered by the Spirit.
Our goal is perfection and maturity, though we don't demand that followers of Jesus start there. The goal is to move there as quickly as possible, leaving behind our captivity to sin and ourselves.
Thanks, Ed. Well stated!
I'm pretty sure a better translation of Jesus' words in Matt 5:48 would be "Grow up!" - which, in my opinion should be on a t-shirt, sold alongside another Christian shirt that says, "Eat me!" (John 6:53)
: )
I'm definitely down for the T-shirts, Jason (I still wear yours regularly).
No doubt Jesus' idea of "perfection" is tied up with maturity, but I can't help noticing how low we set the bar for maturity--or expressed differently, "our potential in Christ." I left the following verse out of the three bullets in the blog, but it also applies: "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness . . ." (2 Peter 1:3) I just don't hear that coming from our pulpits--that God has equipped us through Christ to lead truly God-ward (perfect, mature) lives. It seems to me the vast majority of believers feel their destiny is a cycle of failure/forgiveness/failure.
Is a week's worth of meditation enough to catch the vision for our potential in Jesus?
Welcome to the hard-hitting, in-your-face, challenge-your-socks-off questions from Ray Hollenbach.
I look forward to sitting on this one and discussing with you this weekend, Ray.
Hmmm...I've been meditating on this quite a bit lately, and I'm more confused than ever!
My own meditations were sparked by reading A New Kind of Christianity by McLaren—particularly his take on the "biblical narrative question." He suggests that when we begin with "perfection" (in terms of God's creation of the Garden of Eden) it leaves no room for change/transformation/redemption. We can only head in a downward direction when we begin with perfection, and God is in the business of transforming us again and again, from good into more good, no matter how many times we mess up.
A Twitter friend also recently sent me a link to this article, The Bright Side of Wrong. (http://mobile.boston.com/art/21/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/06/13/the_bright_side_of_wrong/?p=1) It suggests that "our fallibility is part and parcel of our brilliance" (and this is not a faith-based article).
Now, with your post in the mix, I have even more to think about.
Hi Kristin:
I'm with McLaren (of course, he doesn't know I exist, but I'm with him). Eden was the starting point between God and Creation. That is, the Creator had purposes and plans for all he made, and He invited Adam and Eve into His story.
Jason Coker's comment (above) is right on point. I believe the New Testament language of perfection refers to completeness or (a dreadful, useless word) maturity. "Maturity," when used in a religious context, use frequently a stick to beat us into someone's idea of correctness. But the Biblical witness is that God has hopes and dreams for us.
The purpose of Monday's meditation was to shake awake those who think their Christian walk is forever consigned to failure and forgiveness--the same failures over and over. I hope to continue to fail all my life, but in the pursuit of destiny with God. when I fail, I want to fail in the right direction! I will continually need forgiveness, but I hope it comes from the fresh work of the Holy Spirit revealing ever more of my need for Jesus and the unsearchable mysteries of why he has chosen to call me his brother.
All the best to you and your feasting crew.
Peace!
We also have this from Paul:
28 We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29 To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.
The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996 (electronic ed.) (Col 1:28–29). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Paul's goal was to help others recognize their perfection in Christ and he worked tirelessly to that end. That causes me to deal with my own perfection and to ask myself what I'm doing to help others find themselves complete in Christ.
Well said Ray. I completely agree that we "set the bar low."I can't speak for anyone else, but understanding Jesus (and Paul's) words to mean completeness (as you put it - although, I don't mind the word maturity) sets me on a life-long journey of growth rather than a short term race toward sinlessness. I like that idea. It seems more concrete, more material. More Jewish.
It also, I think, dislodges Christianity from a disembodied paradigm of Platonic idealism and places it squarely back in the earthier Jewish realm of a wisdom tradition. When Jesus says, "Be perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect" I hear echoes of Proverbs 1:8, "Listen my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching."
Like I sometimes say, Christianity is an old man's game : )
Thanks for pointing out the western-European Platonic idealism thing, Jason. Turns out Jesus was Jewish *and* he read the Old Testament--who knew?!?
Just today I was chatting with a friend about the expectation of a life-long walk with God. When Jesus talked about bearing fruit 30, 60, and 100-fold it makes more sense in the context of five or six decades walking with God.
Platonic idealism also tempts us to think of the physical as "bad" and the "ideal" as good. Who could live up to that ideal of "perfection?" Yeah--let's get dirty with Jesus in the muck of life. Kind of like when he "dirtied himself" in the Incarnation. The days become weeks, months, and years, and we find ourselves becoming conformed to his image, as old men and women.
Amen brother.
Thanks, Ed. Well stated!
Great stuff as always. Perhaps we mix up the starting point with the in progress/destination status for Christians. In other words, we all start out imperfect and in need of God's grace. However, we make the mistake of saying that we aren't perfect when we should be mature once we've been empowered by the Spirit.
Our goal is perfection and maturity, though we don't demand that followers of Jesus start there. The goal is to move there as quickly as possible, leaving behind our captivity to sin and ourselves.
I'm pretty sure a better translation of Jesus' words in Matt 5:48 would be "Grow up!" - which, in my opinion should be on a t-shirt, sold alongside another Christian shirt that says, "Eat me!" (John 6:53)
: )