Teleios

Teleios

This is a Greek word translated into English means perfect. The concept of perfect is not something I really identify with. Growing up in a social and religious culture that considered perfect a virtue, it was something from which I rebelled. When I read the words of Jesus “you are to be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” I knew I was in trouble.

Now that I am at the other end of life not having attained perfection, I figured that Jesus must have meant something different from what I was taught. Doing a little research, I found that perfect in the Bible didn’t mean having all my ducks lined up or never making a mistake. It means growing into the person that God created me to be.

I am not the person I was when I first met the Lord. By allowing the Holy Spirit to direct my life through the ordinary circumstances of daily living, slowly but surely, I am becoming the person God created me to be. Most of the time I don’t even realize what is happening. Often, I think I am moving in reverse when in fact the disappointments, hardships and fears are well within parameters of God molding me into his purpose. Not only does this understanding free me from guilt and shame but it gives me a whole new lease on life: a life that is pursuing his purpose and not wallowing in the disappointment of not measuring up to someone else’s standard.

Be encouraged by the words of the apostle Paul: “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.”

That’s being perfect!