Let’s just say it out loud: none of us are perfect. Not even close.
We all know it. We’ve all fallen short. And nothing we could ever do on our own — no amount of effort, discipline, or good intentions — is going to change that.
So when Jesus looks at his followers in Matthew 5:48 and says “Be perfect, just as your Heavenly Father is perfect” — it’s fair to wonder: is He serious? Are you kidding me? How can anyone ever become perfect?
Here’s what changes everything: a closer look at what Jesus is actually saying reveals He’s not implying that believers are able to live a completely flawless or sinless life. Jesus already knows that’s not possible without Him. Our imperfection is exactly why we need Him — and why His saving mercy and grace exist to forgive us.
No, what Jesus actually means — what He’s truly calling His followers to — is to grow up and be complete, whole, mature.
That’s a different meaning entirely.
According to Jesus, that kind of faith walk and journey toward spiritual growth and maturity begins with the new birth of salvation. From there, we begin to grow by setting our sights on imitating and mirroring how our Heavenly Father lives through Jesus Christ. And God’s Word, as revealed through Jesus, tells us something beautiful about how our Heavenly Father lives: He lives with complete goodness — generous and gracious toward others, just as He is toward us.
Jesus illustrates it plainly in verse 45: This is what God — our Heavenly Father — does. “He gives his best — the sun to warm and the rain to nourish — to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty.”
Our Heavenly Father is a perfect example and role model of maturity, completeness, and wholeness. That’s the life we’re being invited into living.
Our spiritual growth and maturity is dependent on a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ. We eagerly learn how to live by studying God’s Word. We ask the Holy Spirit to daily walk with us and show us how to live.
And, as we truly seek God and move more closely in aligning our life with the life of Jesus, the Holy Spirit works in us — shaping and redefining our desires, our character, our attitude, and our behavior to be more like Jesus and our Heavenly Father. In Jesus Christ, we are restored in our God-created identity and image as we live and move and have our being in Him (Acts 17:28).
For through Jesus Christ — the only holy sacrifice given for us — we are made perfect forever (Hebrews 10:14).
Not when we finally get it right. Not someday down the road.
Forever. Already. In Him.
That is the foundation we get to build a life on. And living from that foundation — growing into the wholeness He designed us for — that’s what it looks like to never stop flourishing.
Now that’s BombDiggity.