perfect

Opening Prayer: Only you, Lord Jesus, can make me into who you created me to be.  Make me that today.  Please.  Amen.

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48

Journal:  What are the words of Jesus doing in you today?  What do you think he wants them to do in you?

Reflection: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."  

When will we ever learn?  We cannot do this on our own.  It is impossible.  That’s the whole point Jesus is trying to make here.  We cannot should and ought our way into perfection.  We cannot muscle or white-knuckle our way to holiness. It is not a question of effort and willpower, but of love and grace and mercy.  We cannot transform ourselves, we can only be transformed.  And we can only be transformed by the One who dreamt us into being.  It is up to God, not up to us.  He is the only one who can make us into the men and women he created us to be.  The call to holiness, therefore, is not an invitation to a life of endless guilt, frustration, and failure, but an invitation to simply be who we were made to be.  It is not an invitation to do a lot of stuff, it is an invitation to fall in love.

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me for the way I complicate things.  Forgive me when I think that holiness is just about me, when it is really all about you.  Help me just to fall more deeply in love with you today, and everything else will take care of itself.  Amen.