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“You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
For most of us, this would seem to be a pretty tall order, one that, in our current state of understanding, is all but impossible to achieve. Yet with a little consideration, we see that the problem with this statement lies not in what Jesus says, but in our interpretation of what he means by the perfection of our heavenly Father. Our interpretation of the concept of perfection is one that is based on the belief that perfection is a state to be reached. If we consider the universe and everything in it as God’s handiwork, then we are forced to conclude that not even God has finished perfecting creation.
We solve this problem when we stop thinking of perfection as a state we reach and start thinking of it as a condition that allows for further growth and expansion. To be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect has nothing to do with reaching a completed state of being where nothing more is needed. To be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect is to be in a state of mind that recognizes its oneness with an eternal process of unlimited expansion. The concept of perfection that people commonly hold is actually the exact opposite of the state that God is apparently in. Creation is not finished, nor will it ever be because God, the Creative Life Force, is set to expand indefinitely. True enlightenment, then, is knowing this truth and consciously participating with its ever-expanding activity.
The fact is, the human design, as is, is capable of handling the full spectrum of the cosmic process of infinite expansion. But to know this requires the shift from the belief in separation to the understanding of oneness with this ever expanding process. Jesus was simply calling the need for this shift to the attention of his listeners.
J Douglas Bottorff 