Our Gospel tells us some difficult words to hear, “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
There will never come a point in time where we will reach the perfection of God. If this were to happen we would become God Himself and that would be impossible. What we are being told is not that we are to become God, but that we are to strive to be more like Him. If we strive to be more like Him we will realize that we will always fall short.
It is only through pride that we think we do not sin and are perfect. Those who live in this state might think they are are “perfect, just as your Heavenly Father is perfect,” but they are far from it. They are far from it because they do not attempt to move towards God each day in this spirit of conversion.
On Wednesday we will enter into the sacred season of Lent. It is the purpose of this season to undergo penance in order that we may be found better prepared to rejoice at the Good News of the Lord’s Resurrection. This is a time of preparation to renew what was begun in us at the moment of our baptism.
Lent assists us in coming to this perfection that God calls us towards. Again we will never become God and will always fall short. Nevertheless, we don’t have to despair because God gives us all that we will need through the gift of His grace to live a good and holy life. Hopefully we are found active in our desire to move towards Him.
Where we have grown slothful in this pursuit, Lent should wake us out of our slumber. If this is to be true for us we need to enter into this season with full awareness of what we are called to undergo. Lent is not a negative time, but is a time of joy, for it helps us to strip away that which is not important in order that we may grow in our love for God.
How will you enter into this most sacred of times? Now is the time to pray concerning those Lenten resolves that you will soon undertake. We should not give up something just because, but in order that we may grow closer to God and let go of any vices that hold us captive. In such manner we will come to more perfectly know God and to more perfectly live His commands.
“Be perfect, just as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” This is a possible statement for us if we choose to make God the prize of our life. Let us let go of every distraction that gets in the way of this reality being made manifest. Truly God calls us to enter more fully into His love that He most perfectly has for each of us.
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