Therefore, you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48, NASB)
When do athletes hit their prime? Well, it depends on the sport. For many sports, it is around 28; this includes baseball players and distance runners. It is even younger for top tennis players; tennis pros statistically reach their highest levels of performance at age 24.
Golfers, on the other hand, peak at about 31 years of age, although recent data suggests it is moving younger. Nelly Korda (25) and Scottie Scheffler (27), the top woman and man golfer in the game today, are certainly moving the needle right now with the streaks they are on.
In sports, one’s prime comes when one’s physical abilities and mental and psychological maturity all come together. Watching athletes perform in their prime is fun, but it can also be difficult to watch the great ones trail off in their performance. It is inevitable.
Thankfully, life in Christ doesn’t work this way! We don’t ever reach our peak.
When we begin in Christ, we are all new creations and our trajectory is only upward. It is in pursuit of Christ-likeness. We are brought into a transformational experience that does not make sense in this world. We are called into a relationship that, when pursued intentionally, promises continual growth—maturity.
Maturity in Christ is not measured by achieving an extra spiritual level, greater Biblical knowledge, or theological or doctrinal mastery; maturity in Christ is nothing more than seeing your behavior toward others look more like his. It could be defined simply by one word: love. However, that word can easily be diluted. For example, I love ice cream!
The Apostle Paul helped us understand what maturity in Christ looks like when manifested through our character and behavior. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [meekness] and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
As we grow in Christ toward our prime, we produce more spiritual fruit. Thankfully, this has nothing to do with our physical capabilities. We manifest the characteristics of the Spirit as we interact with others.
Now, to today’s verse. Unfortunately, our English Bible translations (from the original Greek) fail us on this verse. The word translated twice as “perfect” was actually two different Greek words. The first is “TELEIOI” in Greek, which means to “mature.” The second use is “TELIOS,” which means completely mature or perfect.
Jesus has called us to grow in maturity in him. He doesn’t expect perfection. He asks us to pursue his characteristics. He is calling us to continue to pursue our prime in him. Eventually, he’ll complete us, but don’t stop inviting the Holy Spirit into your life to grow you further into your prime in Jesus.
Prayer: Father, help me never give up on my desire to grow into a mature follower of Jesus in this life on earth.