In his Sermon on the Mount, Christ Jesus summarized his teachings, pointing out how people should think and act toward one another and, primarily, toward God. Among these teachings, the Master left this statement: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
But what is perfection? And how is it possible to be as “perfect” as our Father, God? We generally think of perfection as the condition of being without defect or anomaly; of having the highest degree of excellence. A geometrical figure is perfect when it doesn’t have distortions; for instance, a square, a sphere, an equilateral triangle. There is also the perfection of elements that are not physical, such as the beauty of a landscape or harmony in music.
Surely, Jesus was referring to spiritual perfection, not material or physical perfection, when he counseled his listeners to be perfect. Throughout the Sermon, he turned their attention to the importance of cultivating spiritual qualities such as love, patience, and forgiveness, in word and deed, thus demonstrating that they, indeed, reflect their perfect Father, who is Spirit. The Apostle Paul, who became a devoted follower of Jesus after his conversion to Christianity, wrote to the Galatians, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians:5:22, 23).
