Jesus once said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
A day or two ago I was eating an apple. By the second or third bite, I noticed something: this apple was perfect. It was perfectly round, had no bug bites, was picked at the right time, and had a wonderful flavor. That same day I was driving my car into town and I passed a yard with landscaping that probably cost more than my car. While in town, I washed and waxed my car to get rid of the dirt and give it a glistening shine. Whether this is a cultural thing or not; we as a people seem to be obsessed with perfection. Our fruit, our houses, our cars, and our lives often portray this value.
We tend to point out, identify, and correct flaws; some of the flaws we’re most aware of are the flaws in ourselves. We rarely tell people these flaws, and if we do they usually are the closest friends in our lives. Some of us even pretend that these blemishes don’t exist. Many of us like to see ourselves as the apple: flawless. Some of us even pay money to correct our defects. Surgeries, cosmetics, tanning beds, clothing, and plenty of other coping mechanisms are used to divert attention away from our flaws and on to another object.
You have to start to wonder something: If we really learned from Jesus, would we see things differently? Maybe Jesus is telling us that perfection comes not through focusing on ourselves, but focusing on others and following Him. Maybe we need to stop trying to perfect all the flaws in our lives, but embrace them. Maybe by embracing these flaws and looking outward beyond ourselves; we will see a worldview where things become more about “us” than they do about “I.”
Jesus is talking about an awareness more concerned with the needs of others, an awareness larger than the “me.”
The Spirit of God will give us the ability to see beyond the apple to the tree.
So you have to wonder:
What if Jesus really meant what he said?
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