PERFECT LOVE
Be Perfect. I can’t help but cringe when I hear those words in the Gospel of Matthew. “Be perfect, just as your Heavenly Father is perfect (Mt. 5:48).” For years, I have struggled with my perfectionistic tendencies. Do it right! Do it better! Do it PERFECTLY! Perfection seems like an impossible standard. How can I answer Jesus’s call when I am anything but perfect? Thankfully, Jesus provides the answer: love.
God’s love is perfect love. He showers it over all of His children. We are reminded that he “makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust (Mt. 5:45).” He is impartial and loves unconditionally. Now, it is our turn.
It is easy to love those who are like-minded, who share interests and passions, life-styles, and personality traits. It is easy to love those who love us in return. God delights in this love but is calling us to a higher standard: love as he does. Love those who are different, those who are annoying and those who are challenging. Love those who insult you, who betray you and sin against you. Let us pray for them and learn from them. We all are guilty of sinning against God, yet he continues to love and bless each one of us. Let us do the same.
The invitation to participate in God’s perfect love is challenging but is never done alone. God loves through us if we allow him. He will show us the way. To live out this perfect love, we don’t have to be perfect because God already is!
Lord, help us to accept your invitation to participate in your perfect love. Soften our hearts to those around us that are difficult to love. Open our minds to a deeper understanding of the people you have placed in our lives. We love you, Lord, help us to love like you. Amen
Krystin Newman