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Christ and the Perfect Person
The other day, as I was sweeping off my front porch, Old Man Tom came by and asked me something that caught me slightly off guard. He started simply enough by saying, “Good morning, Charles.”
But it is what he said next that caught me off-guard. He said, “Did you know the earth is 70% water?”
“Had no idea.”
“It is. And as importantly, all that is uncarbonated.”
I stared at him for a moment. Then hesitantly asked, “And?”
“Well, technically, then, it is flat.”
I had to ask. Sometimes, there is not enough coffee in the whole world.
And I am not sure what he found funnier, his joke or my reaction. Either way, he was laughing so hard that it was a good 20 minutes before he could say anything else.
Finally, he said, “Ok, I also have a serious question for you. May I?”
“A question, not a joke.”
“Yes.”
“Sure, what is it.”
“Has anyone ever called you perfect?”
I had to ask.
“Well, I was once called a perfect goofball, does that count?”
He laughed some more, shook his head, and said, “No. No, it doesn’t.”
Now, if you haven’t met Old Tom just yet, for all his dad jokes, he is a man with uncommon clarity of thought. You might say he is a man blessed with more common sense than a drug store has pills. Also, as he is usually a man of few words, I have found that it is usually well worth the listen when he does have something to say.
Knowing this, I said, “Tom, this is going to take at least a full pot of coffee to talk about, isn’t it?”
He smiled big and said, “Oh yeah, at least one.”
I said, “All right, come on in, Tom, and I’ll put the coffee on.”
Now, as Old Tom is waiting for the coffee to brew, my name is Charles. And this is the Coffee-side Chat series here on the Simple Not Shallow Podcast. This podcast is for those who want a deeper faith, not an aggressively mediocre one. This series is a collection of stories conveying real things about the Christian faith and loving God. Now communicating real things about the Christian faith does mean that Scripture will be referenced in these stories. Honestly, how could it not? But rather than breaking up the flow of the story with chapter and verse listings, I will list them where they occur in the transcript of this story, which will be posted in the show notes for this episode. So you can check out all the references for yourself. Also, and this is very important, it should be noted that these stories are being enjoyed while I’m nursing this here cup of coffee sitting on the table right beside me. This is, after all, a coffee-side chat.
Also, before we delve into this, I do want to mention our sponsor, our book: Psalms 1-72, A Simple Not Shallow Presentation. It is a presentation of the first 72 Psalms that is true to the Scripture and allows the poetry to be poetry. It is a beautiful read, it is easy to read, and it does capture the prayerfulness found in the Psalms. Now, don’t worry. I like you so very much that I’ve provided a couple of links for you in the show notes for this episode, just for your convenience. So, go ahead, tell our sponsor that you love this podcast, and collect your copy today.
And for the now, grab yourself some coffee, and let’s get started with this story, this conversation with Old Man Tom.
Once we were seated at the kitchen table, with fresh hot coffee in our hands, I said, “Ok, Tom, what has inspired you to ask if I’d ever been called perfect?”
He said, “Last night, I went out to dinner with the wife. And at the next table, a couple of guys seemed to be having a rather intense conversation. The intensity rose until one of them nearly shouted, ‘If Christians were such perfect people, why do they….’ At this point, he caught himself and lowered his voice again. I have no idea what the conversation was about, and, honestly, I was more interested in conversing with my wifely dinner date than anything else.”
I said, “Probably a good call, Tom.”
He smiled and said, “It was a most excellent call. But anyway, this morning, that phrase came back to my mind. ‘If Christians were such perfect people….’ And I began to wonder about Christians being perfect people. I mean, we both know that nobody is perfect. So, is perfection something a Christian should even be seeking? And if so, what does that look like, and who gets to decide what perfection is? Even Christians cannot agree on this. I mean, looking at the different denominations of the Christian faith, even they cannot agree on all things Christ. So, who decides what a perfect Christian is? If those who know the faith cannot agree, are we seriously to look to those who know little or nothing about it for the answer? Honestly, who decides?
“I was thinking about this when I started my devotions this morning. And you’ll never guess what happened.”
“You found the answer to all these questions?”
“Well, maybe not the exact answers, but a good starting point for a train of thought that is most fascinating and informative. The passage I read today was in Matthew, where Jesus tells us to be perfect as God is perfect (Matthew 5:48). What did he mean by that?”
At this point. I got up and put on more coffee.
Seeing this, Old Tom smiled and said, “Yes, this could be more difficult to untangle than a poorly handled bait caster.”
“Recent history, Tom?”
“Yeah.
“Anyway, I figured the best way to go about this was to simplify where I could. So I choose to focus only on what Jesus was saying in Matthew, for if I could get my head around that, I figured the rest would sort itself out.”
I was intrigued; I had plenty of coffee and the rest of the day. So, I asked, “How did it sort out, Tom?”
“Well, at first, it was quite the conundrum, really. Hmmm. Conundrum… I like that word. It has a ring to it, does it not? Conundrum. Anyway, it was a perplexing situation. We are not, never have been, and can never be “perfect.” Yet, Jesus says we are to be perfect as God is. That sounds impossible. But then, I thought of our conversations (in episodes 103 and 104) about how God’s thoughts and ways are not ours and how his are the more accurate, purer, more authentic ones (Isaiah 55:8,9).
“And I thought to myself, what if God’s idea of perfection and ours are different? Oh yes. What if, when we say we are not perfect, we mean something different by it than Jesus did when he told us to be perfect?”
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, oh, the eloquence found in cocking an eyebrow while silently lifting one’s coffee up to one’s mouth.
He smiled and continued, “As you know, I’m not much of a scholar. But I know a guy who is. And he told me something interesting. He said that sometimes our use of the word perfect differs from how it was used in the Greek of the New Testament. Often, the Greek word could simply mean: being complete, fully developed, being an adult, or simply, being a grown-up. So, when Jesus says to be perfect as God is, he could easily be telling us to be mature, to be grown-ups, when it comes to love, even as God is The Grown-up. And when we read the context of the verses around it (verses 43 -47), this makes absolute sense.
“Oh… this also helps us better understand the verse (1 John 4:17), which talks about how perfect love casts out fear. It is a mature, fully developed adult love, one fully grown-up that leaves no room for fear. Isn’t that intriguing?”
Well, I must say that I sat there absorbing this for a moment, then as I slowly put my cup on the table, I said, “So, being perfect is about growing in a relationship with God? It means becoming an adult as we love God first and our neighbors second?”
“Yes, I do think so. I mean, that fits the context of all other Scripture.”
Then we sat in silence for a while to let that sink in. I was just reaching for the coffee pot when a knock came at the front door. It was a message from Tom’s wife; she needed him to come home immediately. It seems as if he had put off cutting the grass a little too long. He had been enjoying the finer things a little too much, fishing yesterday (yeah, the bait caster problem was recent), and coffee with a friend today. All fine things to do, but things still needed to get done at home.
He said, “I’d better be going. But I’ll come by as soon as I can. For I do want to talk about a thought, this has inspired.”
“Sounds good to me. What is the thought?”
“No, if I start that now, I’ll be here all day. Ok, ok, ok, ok, in a very small nutshell, it is what this looks like in real life and how that relates to going big.”
“Going big?”
“Next time, next time.”
And with that, he shot out the door (as quickly as an old man can shoot out of a door.) before getting himself entangled in another conversation. It was probably just as well. I already had a lot to think about.
As for myself, I sat down and finished pouring that cup of coffee and started thinking about it all. What do you think about it? Anyway. What do you think? If you don’t mind, let me know all about it in the comments section for this episode. Click on the link provided in the show notes for this episode. Copy and paste it if you need to. And once on this episode’s home page, scroll down and you’ll find that comment box and can share away. Thank you for listening and for sharing. Also, please rate this episode and subscribe to this podcast through the podcast service of your choice. Stitcher, Spotify, Apple podcasts, iheartradio, tune in, google podcasts, or whichever you prefer.
Well, until next time then. May you live a whole life from your whole life.
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