Pilgr-image 25 - Perfect Love
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. - Matthew 5:48 (NRSV)
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. - Matthew 5:48 (NRSV)
“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” - Matthew 5:48 (Message)
“By loving and blessing all people, you will be walking in the footsteps of your Father from the spirit-world above, who is perfect in all his ways. - Matthew 5:48 (First Nations Version)
Ok - there’s some rich irony here. If you were reading our guidebook closely, you may have noticed that I skipped this chapter. This is the one that should have been #24, not the one that was posted on Wednesday. Clearly, not perfect. So I guess I could go back and switch the order and get it “perfect” (and believe me, I thought about it), but I think this is better. Because this is the reality of it. We live in an imperfect world filled with imperfect people.
I love the First Nations translation of this passage (BTW the First Nations translation is a new one that recently came out that was crafted by Native American leaders to try to share the spirit and senses of Native American story-telling. It is an absolutely beautiful version). I love the image of a child walking in the footsteps of a parent trying to learn the ways that the parent has learned over the years. The child starting to learn will not do it perfect the first time, but will slowly improve the more they practice, just as that parent had to do the same following in another’s footsteps. The word that is often translated “perfect” is one that speaks more of maturity and completion rather than perfection. It feels more like progress is what we are called towards rather than perfection. We may not be able to draw a perfect circle but we can draw something like a circle. Not perfection, but progress.