The Rationale and Purpose of Attempted Perfection

UV 1620/10000 The Rationale and Purpose of Attempted Perfection
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world

Philippians 2 v 15

The Lord’s will is that we who believe in Jesus should be blameless and harmless for we are the children of God. As the Father is just, we too should be just. As the Father is loving, we too must be unselfish, loving and giving. As the Father is merciful, we too should be forgiving. As the Father is truthful, we too should be truthful. As the Father is gracious, we too should be gracious. As the Father is creative, we too should be creative. As the Father is kind, gentle and humble, we too should be kind, gentle and humble. As the Father is perfect, we too should aim to excel. We should be flawless in character, blemishless in word, work and conduct. We should not conform to the crookedness and perversions we see around us in our generation but we should be transformed by the renewal of our minds by the Spirit of God and His Word.


The nine attitudes that Jesus extolled in His sermon on the Mount should be our guide and lamp to indicate the mental and spiritual pathways we should trod: we should always recognize that we are the worst of sinners as St Paul did, not wallowing in our past but always remembering we are saved by grace and not by virtue of our character or deeds. We should every day mourn over some aspect of our character and the world – it implies that we should genuinely want to repent and change in this area. Our greatest passion and desire should be to be righteous not in the sight of men but in the sight of the Lord. We should be pure in heart, implying that we should avoid all manner of impurities of thought and hate dishonest gain. We should love peace and take all possible efforts to ensure peace in our relationships. We should be willing to pay a price for our faith and forebear and tolerate opposition, hostility and persecution on account of the stand we take by faith. These are the marks or qualities of the children of God.

We have been called out of the world to be children of God. It is the intense and great love of God that made this possible. Our just and apt response to such love is to emulate the Father and the Son with the help of the Holy Spirit. We were all prodigal sons at one time but now that we have been welcomed back into the loving embrace of the Father through the grace of the elder Son Jesus who acts as our mediator, we should never ever break away from our relationship with Him and instead, walk or live in such a way that our lives are a living sacrifice unto Him. We know and the Father knows too well that we cannot be perfect as long as we live on this earth but He will fill the gaps by and through His grace. God’s grace is a subtle combination of power, love and wisdom. Our attempts at perfection will bring satisfaction and glory to Him. We are His stars that should shine in this dark contemporary world. Like the moon, we have no light of our own but His grace enables us to shine. We are His ambassadors and representatives in this world and we need to present His credentials and standards.


Prateep V Philip