Be Perfect

Call To Prayer

Title: Be Perfect

By: Njuacha Hubert

Date: 10.01.2025

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.  Matthew 5:47-48

As we read in the above verse of scripture, it is God’s will for us to be like Him; Full of love and compassion. However how many Christians do you see that are full of love? Or rather let’s say: that is exactly perfect. NONE!, I suppose. So what then is the difference between an unbeliever and someone who believes in Jesus?

The Bible says in 1 John 1:8:

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

That means everyone including Christians falls into sin in one form or another. But the difference is that a true Christian does not continue in sin (refer 1 John 3:9). A believer in Jesus because of the Holy Spirit is convicted of sin each time they fall and they repent. Meanwhile, an unbeliever may rather embrace sin and normalize it. A warning then is for the believer not to deliberately keep on sinning because that will build pride in you to a point where you will be cut off from the faith (refer to Hebrews 3:12-13, Hebrews 10:26-31). So in order words, the difference is that we (believers) are not perfect but we are striving to be perfect by God’s Grace (not just by our self-effort alone).

The Bible says in Proverbs 24:16:

for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

So you see the believer is not one that will wait for sin to catch up with them before repenting but for the lone fact that it is sin, they repent. Meanwhile the wicked will only regret when sin has backfired because sin eventually leads to trouble. 

So when you fall, acknowledge your wrong, ask for forgiveness, rise by seeking grace, and walk again in faith and love. 

As children of God, we should aim to be good examples and be aware that others watch our actions closely to confirm if we truly believe that which we profess with our lips. Your life should be a source of encouragement or inspiration to others. But at the same time don’t use a man or woman of God as your standard for living because they can fail and that might discourage you. Jesus is our standard. The word of God is our standard, not a man. You must have a personal walk with God. As you carry on your fellowship with Jesus you will become more like Him as He directs, corrects, admonishes, encourages, comforts you, etc. 

Prayer Points:

Let’s thank God for this word today. Let’s pray for God to help us repent quickly when He convicts us. Let’s pray against discouragement from our failures but to keep looking unto Jesus. Let’s pray for grace to abide in His presence through prayer and thanksgiving.