Be perfect in your imperfections

Matthew 5:43-48

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Mahatma Ghandi once said that if Christians in India really followed Jesus, Hinduism would cease to exist in that country. He claimed that there was one part of the teachings of Jesus in particular that he found especially compelling:  the Sermon on the Mount.  He claimed to love the Sermon on the Mount.

The Sermon on the Mount will fascinate any student of philosophy or literature. The teachings of Jesus demandingly surpasses the stringency of the Mosaic Law yet portrays what the Life in the Spirit ought to be. While it appeared to be an insurmountable feat to just attempt compliance, it is a natural consequence of one who is filled in the Spirit of God.

Jesus drew a sharp distinction between the obstinate external observances of the law, by the Pharisees in contrast to the internal conditioning of the heart to an obedience that permeates from within to the exterior.

The Sermon on the Mount is filled with paradoxes and seemingly oxymoron but a careful navigation of these conundrums reveal that these concepts are of a higher origin.

One such paradox is found in the text above. While it is common to hate our enemies, our Lord teaches us the reverse. Not just to love them but to pray for them who harm or persecute you. The natural tendency for the wicked human heart is to take revenge, curse and even pray for a deep calamity on the offender and his progeny. Jesus takes a whole new approach to dealing with our enemies.

One of the strangest things of being a Christian is that most of my “enemies” are Christians. I found this to be a common thread amongst the many pastors I have had the privileged of confiding. I find more favour and love amongst those who don't profess Christ but sadly hatred and jealousy from the beloved of the Lamb.

Well I don't have to look far. I myself have been a culprit. While on the external it’s all about a show of “Christian character”, deep within there is the old nature of hate, hurt and wanting revenge. And if you are sincere with yourself, I am afraid you too will have the same confession.

Jesus said that if we want to perfect as our Father in heaven, we need to love our enemies. This is something I must confess is not easily done. I struggled with this for a long time.

One day I was reminded of the episode of Moses pleading with God for the children of Israel.

Exodus 32:32 - But now, please forgive their sin--but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written."

Here was Moses willing to sacrifice his life for the people who had earlier on many occasions demanded and threatened to kill him. I came to the conclusion  that it is only possible because Moses was so full of God’s Spirit that he was “acting like God”. And this is the key. When one s full of the Holy Spirit and bears the fruit of the Spirit, the inwards perimeters will be defined by God’s standards and the outward distinction will be to pray for those who hate you and persecute you.

And while Jesus’ standards seem super impossible in the human framework, it’s totally possible under the influence of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit will come, He will “guide you into all the truth”.

If we want to be perfect, then we need to love and pray for our enemies. And when we do that you will find a down-pouring of God’s blessings and favor, just like how Moses was given the title as the most “meekest man of earth”. Again what you sow is what you reap. You sow forgiveness and love, you reap forgiveness and love, you sow hatred and anger, you reap the same. Its a question of the internal not the exterior. Be perfect in your imperfections.