In a perfect world, every child would have a loving, godly mother and father living in the same house with them, complete with sweet lullabies and kind platitudes. Unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world. Sometimes, women have to pick up the reigns and do the best we can.
If you ask me, perfection is overrated. My mind goes back to the times I yelled at my children to hurry when they dawdled in the morning. An irritated sigh. Late for work again. Or when my neighbor complained about our mutt getting in her yard, and I wanted to inform her that “she might understand if she had three children to raise alone!” I have not always had a good attitude, which equates to imperfection in my book. I won’t even acknowledge here some of my larger discrepancies.
So my big question: is perfection attainable, or should we just give up attempting to reach that heavenly state?
Matthew 5:48 tells us to be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
If this is really a mandate, if Jesus really commanded this, how do we address our dilemma? In our hearts, we do not want to covet another person’s higher paying job, or pine for a hubby that brings daylilies when we’re blue. We sincerely want to be godly women. But outwardly, in our exterior, we flop. Try as we might and praying constantly, those nagging, negative actions and thoughts seem to pop up.
As women who love God, we have an advantage. We have been forgiven! Acts 10:43 tell us that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through Jesus’ name. That’s wonderful news! Our heavenly Father does not look down at our mistakes and failures. He looks at us through the blood of Christ, like through a photo lens that makes everything look perfect, cleaned of all the blemishes.
On top of that, as we read God’s word, he promises to help us become more godly. Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Corinthians 7:1. Yes, we should strive to purify ourselves, while also remembering that as students of perfection, God does not grade our papers, making big red check marks, but he has graded Jesus’ paper instead of ours, and Jesus never missed a point. He never got a ninety-nine plus; he has always received a perfect score.
Not only that, but God’s perfect knowledge filters down to us, helping us, guiding us toward perfection. God is standing with us, and he has the knowledge to help us become more like we want to be, honest and trustworthy. With God’s help, we can become a better and better example of Christ’s image to our children and everyone we meet.
Job 36:4 states that He is with us. Be assured that my words are not false; one with perfect knowledge is with you.
When life brings difficulties and temptations, and it will, we can learn and grow closer toward perfection. Although we can never attain perfection in this world, our lives can reveal a growing pattern of godly living. And that, my friends, means we should not give up striving for perfection, but agree with God and repent of our sins when we mess up. He is our tutor, awesome and wise, and can lead us into all righteousness.
About Kathryn Spurgeon
Kathryn Spurgeon is a Christian author, speaker and book publisher. Author of Love From the Inside Out, Learn to Love like Jesus Loves, a Bible study, she has also published hundreds of articles, short stories and poetry. A CPA, she is the former CFO of Red Eagle Resources and CEO of Integrity Healthcare.