How Jesus Directed His People Toward Excellence Matt 5:48
Illustration:Serious critics sometimes argue that the standards in art are always relative, but all artistic masterpieces give them the lie.
John Gardner in The Art of Fiction: Notes of Craft for Young Writers.
The only thing most people do better than anyone else is read their own handwriting.
John Adams.
1. Jesus knew that excellence could only be measured in terms of the heavenly Father. The Lord Jesus did not make the mistake of letting His standards be measured relative to his cultural context.
Instead, Jesus said, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt. 5:48)
Ask the Lord to help you point your disciples more toward God’s standards than human beings.
Illustration:Edwin Bliss once said, "The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy. The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time."
Tim Hansel, Eating Problems for Breakfast, Word Publishing, 1988, p. 39.
2. Jesus knew that excellence is measured by the heavenly Father’s holiness. The Lord knew that Peter would write, "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written, "Be holy, because I am holy." (I Pet. 1:15)
Ask the Lord for a greater holiness in your mind, will, and emotional reactions to problems. Only the power of the Holy Spirit is able to create in us a holy perspective toward all aspects of life and ministry.
3. Jesus knew that we help complete God’s love in us when we obey His word. (I John 2:5) Perfection is not obtained through an intellectual mastery of the Bible, but a character transformation through the power of the Holy Spirit. If a person really wants to point people toward a perfect lifestyle let them walk as Jesus did. Never has the perfect will of God been carried out as it was in the life, teaching and ministry of Jesus Christ.
Ask the Lord to help you to point others to Christ’s lifestyle in all dimensions of life through your example.
4. Jesus knew that we gradually transform our lifestyles when we allow God’s word to change our cognitive, affective, behavioral and spiritual parts of our being.
Ask the Lord to help you pursue a holistic strategy to becoming more like Christ instead of working only on your favorite areas of development. By resisting the temptation to conform to the world and continually renewing our mind’s perspectives we will give evidence to how God’s will in us is not only good and pleasing, but is the perfect will of God. (Rom. 12:1,2)
5. Jesus knew that perfection is only made complete in our yielding to Him all of our weaknesses. Jesus told Paul, "MY grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9) Thank God for the way He has made you. Allow the Lord to use your weaknesses to complete His perfecting work in you rather than complaining about them. It was for this very reason that Paul said, "For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor. 12:10)
Ask the Lord to help you delight in whatever God gives you, knowing His ways are perfect and all His ways are peace.
6. Jesus knew that the Lord strives to perfect in will in us. The Lord remembered what David wrote, " The Lord will perfect His purpose for me; your love, O Lord endures forever." (Psa 138:8) Resistance to the will of God will only end in frustration, bitterness and defeat. Let God have His way since our heavenly Father always knows what is best.
Ask God for the confidence to accept His perfect plans, processes and products in a way that pleases God in all respects and bears fruit in every good work while allowing you to increase in the perfect knowledge of God.
7. Jesus wants us to experience perfect peace as our thoughts are focused on God and His will. The Lord fondly remembered the words of Isaiah who wrote, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed upon you because he trusts in you." (Isa 26:3)
All other forms of peace are fleeting except that which is given to us by the Lord. Do not except any substitute for His peace.
8. Jesus knew that Job successfully was able to endure a painful path toward perfection. At the end of Job’s life he wrote, "Lord, now I know you can do all things perfectly and no purpose of yours can be thwarted." (Job 42:1,2)
The pathway to perfection may be painful, confusing and even contradictory to what others have experienced, but let God’s sovereign will lead you uniquely towards His path to perfection.
9. Jesus knew that the more we pattern our life after Him the more we will experience persecution and misunderstanding from the world, the flesh and the devil. Jesus said, "IN the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) The pathway to perfection is not for the faint of heart because it involves taking up our cross daily and following Jesus regardless of the costs.
Prepare yourself for hardships or
Song: "Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone and all the world go free? No there’’ a cross for everyone and there’s a cross for me." (Old Famous Hymn)
10. Jesus wants all of His disciples to accept His admonishing and teaching so that we can become complete in Him. The Lord knew that Paul would write, "We admonish every man and teach every man with all wisdom that we present every man complete in Christ." (Col. 1:28) A wise man accepts instruction, but a fool spurns it.
Ask the Lord to lead you to hungry disciples who are willing to do what it takes to become more like the Master!
Conclusion:The name Stradivarius is synonymous with fine violins. This is true because Antonius Stradivarius insisted that no instrument constructed in his shop be sold until it was as near perfection as human care and skill could make it. Stradivarius observed, "God needs violins to send His music into the world, and if any violins are defective God’s music will be spoiled." His work philosophy was summed up in one sentence: "Other men will make other violins, but no man shall make a better one."
Our Daily Bread, January 25, 1993.
