During the solitude of the morning came a moment of abject humiliation. It was ugly, but it revealed a new depth of need for personal growth—an opportunity not to pass up. So I prayed for help and sought to learn whatever I could.
The line that came to mind was, “Be you perfect.” For the first time I thought through an approach to that invitation.
First of all, be. This involves letting go of overactive thinking, turbulent emotion, and driven action. (In fact, these disturbances may be symptoms of perfectionism, which focuses on secondary things instead of the core.)
Next, feel the pulse of life, the movement of vitality, as a living being in this world.
Then reflect on the core of your identity as a son or daughter of God. Take this core as who you truly are. Stay with that thought for as long as it takes. Continue in that sober state. In particular, do not hurry to dispel the ugly stimulus that prompted this meditation in the first place; do not force some artificial positive thought into the learning process, which needs time to come to its fullness. Do not leap into some heroic resolve to be perfect.
Then identify in faith with your wonderfulness within, your nucleus, the spirit gift of the presence of God dwelling in your mind. Just knowing in faith that it is present within is a marvelous, if temporary, substitute for the experience that comes in due time.
When the blessed moment comes, enjoy a taste of loving and joyous divine presence within.
Now that you are truly re-connected, you can live that out. New courage, new whatever you need—it is there as you live forward.
As you go through the day, when you find yourself wandering away from that place of grounding, gently refresh that consciousness of who you truly are as a member in the universal family, a consciousness free of all superiority or inferiority.
In my opinion, this is the sense in which we humans can be perfect: anchored in God’s perfection. Of course perfection in the full sense is a long ways off; but this available sense is so important that it is worth honoring and cherishing it as a gift of cooperation.
Is there a sense in which we can be perfect in this life? What does it mean to you to be perfect now? What happens when you get into that place? Do you have a little meditation or series of thoughts that helps you find that place? If now, would you like to create a series of steps by changing this little meditation until it fits you and your idea of God’s truth? If this would be a new experience for you, what happens when you try to enter–begin to enter–this place of centered living? Can you laugh and enjoy your early attempts as the first steps in what will be an eventual success?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Autumn_mountain_trail.jpg/1200px-Autumn_mountain_trail.jpg
“Be you Perfect!” is a command given to all of the children of the Father’s family. In making a response to this post, I want to emphasize that this response is the result of my trying to obey that command. The command is clear. It is the Father’s will that I be perfect. As I have grappled with that command that was given in Matthew 5:48 for over 34 years, I have first tried to understand what it means to be perfect as a human being. What are the qualities that are manifested in a perfect human being? In short what does a perfect human being look like. One thing is for sure, if the command is to apply to all of the children of God’s family, it can not apply to physical or intellectual perfection. That leaves moral and spiritual perfection.
In trying to glean the instruction for acquiring this moral and spiritual perfection, I tried just about everything that I could think of including prayer and worship that would shed some light on this awe inspiring command. Finally I decided to take a good look at the one who gave it. And though the account of his life is rather fragmented in the Gospels, there is enough to give a glimpse of his magnificent character which to my observation is perfect.
Here we see a human being dedicated to doing the Father’s will, and being motivated by love and dominated by mercy. Observation of his life as it is given in the Scriptures reveal that he accomplished all of this by dedicating his will to doing the Father’s will, to being perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect. Thus I sat out to do the same thing: To dedicate my will to doing the Father’s will.
As time has gone by, all the while wondering was I making any progress towards actualizing that command, I realized that the only internal thing I had to offer to this process of obeying the command to be perfect, was my sincere desire to do the Father’s will along with the faith that it could be done if I really wanted to do it.
As I look back over my life I ask the question what is the difference between my character now and then? What is the difference between my life now and then? As far as I am able to tell, I experienced all the ups and downs of living as anybody else. I have had to deal with the trials and tribulation of life just as everybody else. There have been times, many times when the emotional shock of trials and tribulations have overwhelmed my intellect and emotions so that I could not even think clearly or even form a prayer request. But even then my desire to do the Father’s will remained.
But what I have noticed through it all is that I have a undying hope and faith in the goodness of God. I feel this overwhelming urge to love my brothers and sister, and to be helpful to them. How far have I progressed? Well that is for God to say; I can’t say, but I know that I have been and am dedicated to doing his will, and in the final analysis that is all I can do. He placed that desire in my soul and with my cooperation which I am giving as much as I am able, he will finished what he started.
Pray for me.
Dr. Perry
It is a pleasure to pray for you, Dr. Perry. You have allowed us to get to know you through openly sharing your triumphs and struggles, your inspiring stories and your hard times. We join you in faith and love.
“Be you Perfect!” is a command given to all of the children of the Father’s family. In making a response to this post, I want to emphasize that this response is the result of my trying to obey that command. The command is clear. It is the Father’s will that I be perfect. As I have grappled with that command that was given in Matthew 5:48 for over 34 years, I have first tried to understand what it means to be perfect as a human being. What are the qualities that are manifested in a perfect human being? In short what does a perfect human being look like. One thing is for sure, if the command is to apply to all of the children of God’s family, it can not apply to physical or intellectual perfection. That leaves moral and spiritual perfection.
In trying to glean the instruction for acquiring this moral and spiritual perfection, I tried just about everything that I could think of including prayer and worship that would shed some light on this awe inspiring command. Finally I decided to take a good look at the one who gave it. And though the account of his life is rather fragmented in the Gospels, there is enough to give a glimpse of his magnificent character which to my observation is perfect.
Here we see a human being dedicated to doing the Father’s will, and being motivated by love and dominated by mercy. Observation of his life as it is given in the Scriptures reveal that he accomplished all of this by dedicating his will to doing the Father’s will, to being perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect. Thus I sat out to do the same thing: To dedicate my will to doing the Father’s will.
As time has gone by, all the while wondering was I making any progress towards actualizing that command, I realized that the only internal thing I had to offer to this process of obeying the command to be perfect, was my sincere desire to do the Father’s will along with the faith that it could be done if I really wanted to do it.
As I look back over my life I ask the question what is the difference between my character now and then? What is the difference between my life now and then? As far as I am able to tell, I experienced all the ups and downs of living as anybody else. I have had to deal with the trials and tribulation of life just as everybody else. There have been times, many times when the emotional shock of trials and tribulations have overwhelmed my intellect and emotions so that I could not even think clearly or even form a prayer request. But even then my desire to do the Father’s will remained.
But what I have noticed through it all is that I have a undying hope and faith in the goodness of God. I feel this overwhelming urge to love my brothers and sister, and to be helpful to them. How far have I progressed? Well that is for God to say; I can’t say, but I know that I have been and am dedicated to doing his will, and in the final analysis that is all I can do. He placed that desire in my soul and with my cooperation which I am giving as much as I am able, he will finished what he started.
Pray for me.
Dr. Perry
It is a pleasure to pray for you, Dr. Perry. You have allowed us to get to know you through openly sharing your triumphs and struggles, your inspiring stories and your hard times. We join you in faith and love.