In the word perfect you might hear every test you failed. You might hear every target you did not quite hit. You might hear the impossible standard set for you by a parent, teacher, partner, or spouse. Indeed you might hear the impossible standard you set for yourself. As you read “Be perfect,” you may find your stomach coiling into an anxious knot as you wonder what is now to be demanded of you that you cannot achieve. As human beings, we hear in the command to be perfect a demand for flawlessness. But flawlessness is not the goal of God’s invitation.
