Matthew 5:48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

What is our perception of perfection? What does that look like?

I will admit it is unfair to ask this question of others since I have struggled so hard with it myself. I struggled with it because of just one word, must. My Lord has said to me that I must, and since He is Lord and I am His to command, then I must.

In order to do what we must, it takes an understanding of the task at hand in order to do what we are told to do. Sometimes I think about what others were told and how they obeyed. For instance Saul was struck blind on the road to Damascus. Then he was told Acts 9:6 “But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

Men who had not heard our Lord helped him into the city and led him to the house of Judas on the street called “Straight.” There in his blindness he prayed and saw in a vision one called Anninias was to come and restore his sight.

We are like that. We need help from others, even if it is the blind leading the blind, getting us to a point where we can stop and pray. We don’t know exactly what Paul prayed but we know what we want to pray about. So we pray.

Lord I am blind, show me how to do what I “must” do. Amen

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

So then, leaning on our own understanding is a form of blindness and we must trust the Lord to lead us to that place where our eyes will be opened.

Matthew 5:48 is the last verse under the heading “Love Your Enemies”. The word therefore precedes the word “must” so we must love. It seems impossible to understand perfectly and now I am being asked to love perfectly? How can I do that Lord?

“Trust me!” says the Lord.

Psalm 91:14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.”