Food for thought...

The other night during Nucleus, we finished up our discussion on the attributes of God. We’ve talked about His grace, righteousness, beauty, glory, eternity, etc. It’s really given me a renewed perspective on who God really is. If we are not careful, God’s magnificence can become routine to us, partly because we cannot accurately express His qualities with words. Sure, we refer to Him as all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing; actually being able to grasp what that actually looks like in a Being like our Heavenly Father is no easy task, though.

As we wrapped up our lesson Sunday night, we talked about the “Now What” of the message. We've learned quite a bit about God and the perfect qualities that He possesses, but how does that change us now? Does knowing that God is a God of order, wisdom, and holiness make a difference in the way that we live from day to day?

The apostle Peter reminds us that we are to imitate God’s holiness [I Peter 1:16]. With the words, “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect,” Matthew 5:48 affirms the idea that we are to strive for godliness in all we do. That last phrase, in itself, is probably routine to some, but if we put it into practice, what does that change in our lifestyles?

In short, all the rules, standards, and boundaries in the world can be boiled down to one ultimate command the believer is to follow: be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect. Now, granted, we will never be able to attain the perfection God embodies. That's why the Christian life is a continuous journey, not a destination. It's not something we will ever complete or fully attain this side of heaven. But imagine how different our lives would be if we simply followed that one law, and committed ourselves to strive for perfection and godliness in all that we do.