Matthew 5:48 (NKJV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTherefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This injunction towards perfection was made in the context of the instruction to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, to do good to those who hate us and to pray for those who spitefully use us. Spiritual perfection is not just a spiritually empty terminology, but it is a word that comes with some practical ways of assessment. Unfortunately, we have come to assess the spiritually mature or the spiritually perfect in other ways other than the criteria set up by Jesus. When a man spends a lot of time in prayer, Bible study, evangelism, counseling and Bible preaching, to such we accord the pedestal of spiritual maturity. But that\u2019s not what Jesus said we should use to assess the spiritually mature or the spiritually perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we can pray for those who use us in a spiteful way, love those who hate us and bless those who curse us, then we are indeed on the path to spiritual perfection. I don\u2019t want to be measured by the measurement of the world or the church. I want to be measured by the measurement of Jesus. Jesus says that when you walk in His ways by acting in the ways He described for the spiritually mature, \u2018then you will be sons of your father in heaven\u2019 (v45). This must be our goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJesus, I hear You. Of course, I know that it\u2019s not possible without the full embodiment of Your presence and Your power within me, to walk in this way, but because You expect it of me, I know You will give and have already given, what I need to grow into this perfection. So I keep my eyes on You, and I ask that I will always find grace to act by these expectations. In Your name, I pray. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Matthew 5:48 (NKJV) \u201cTherefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.\u201d This injunction towards perfection was made in the context of the instruction to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, to do good to those who hate us and to pray for those who spitefully use us. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-reflections-from-matthew"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t