Perfection

In the Wesleyan tradition clergy have a history of asking one another the question, "Are you going onto perfection?"  John Wesley meant by perfection a filling of one's heart with love for God such that love would drive every good deed with God's mercy and compassion and every discipline with a desire to please God.  It meant to have the mind of Christ; to walk as Jesus walked; to be moved by the love of God such that one feels obliged to keep God's commands, attend to means of grace that nurture our relationship with God, deepen our knowledge and reliance upon Him and to do good to others as often as we can.

John Wesley wrote on Christian Perfection:

“This it is to be a perfect man, to be 'sanctified throughout;' even 'to have a heart so all-flaming with the love of God,' ‘as continually to offer up every thought, word, and work, as a spiritual sacrifice, acceptable to God through Christ.' In every thought of our hearts, in every word of our tongues, in every work of our hands, to 'show forth his praise…”

As I prepare for the 90 day Bible blitz, I am concerned about an unhealthy concern for perfection.  Might I be placing too big a burden on myself for fear of not reaching the goal of reading the entire bible in 90 days?  What is the real reason for this effort?  Is it not to pursue God? 

Jesus taught in John 5:39-40

"You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life."

Lord, I do come to the scriptures to be filled with You and all your love and goodness.  Keep me from burdening myself or others with a weight of unhealthy perfectionism where I might despair of ever meeting lofty goals or be unable to celebrate the good things I have already attained and enjoy.

Paul taught to pursue the perfection of Christ, but it was ultimately the resurrection body he saw as the end of his efforts to be like Christ (Phil 3:8-12).  No amount of effort can bring us resurrection.  It is a gift from our loving Father in heaven promised to all who trust in His son Jesus Christ.  So perfection is not about gaining the ultimate union with Christ, but a faithful pursuit of receiving the prize.

Possibly the best passage of scripture that exhibits a healthy relationship with perfection is 1 Cor. 13:8-12.  Paul speaks of the imperfect or "partial or incomplete" nature of mortal life.  Whatever  knowledge or ability we attain in life is only "in part." But when the perfect or complete comes, we will be made complete as Christ is complete.  "Now we see as if looking in a blurry mirror, but then we shall know even as we are fully known." (1 Cor. 13:12) (my paraphrase)

It seems to me that the healthiest relationship with perfection is to recognize the "Perfect One" ...Jesus Christ, God's Son, and worship and serve Him faithfully throughout our lives, cooperating with His grace to become more and more as He is. This pursuit of perfection is not out of legalistic compulsion or desperate self abasement, but rather from an intense love and desire to emulate the one we love and esteem.

Perfection is to love Jesus and faithfully rely on God's promise and power to become like Him.