'So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect'

Last time I discussed the phrase, “God is Love.”  Today I want to discuss what Jesus says in Matthew 5:48. He says, "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  This line comes at the end of Our Lord teaching what is expected from His followers.  He makes it clear that He has come to fulfill and not to abolish the law.  Then He makes it clear that we must not just conform externally to His Law (of love) but that we must internally conform to His law.  He tells us we can’t grow angry with our brothers, not just refrain from murder.  He tells us we can’t lust, not just refrain from immoral sexual activity.  He tells us we have to love our enemies, not just love your friends.
He caps this whole discourse with the admonition for us to be perfect.  So, I have good news and bad news.  The good news is this; one day we will be perfect like our Father in heaven is perfect.  It is what God desires for us.  The bad news is this; we have to become perfect like our Father in heaven is perfect.  This process of becoming perfect is not easy, growth never is.  As a quick aside, this is why God, in His infinite mercy, gives us Purgatory.  We can become perfected there, but this striving to become more like our Father, this striving to become perfected in love begins now.
Why does God demand that we become perfect before entering His kingdom?  Is He like the dad who just finished painting the child’s room and is very picky about making sure the room stays pristine?  I would argue, no.  I think God wants us to be perfect so that we can be completely free from sin and its stain.  God wants sin to have NO hold over us at all.  God does not want us to be tethered to our sinful pasts.  This detaching from our bad habits and selfishness is not easy now, and it won’t be in Purgatory either.  However, the end achieved is perfect bliss!
— Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life. Email him at [email protected] 
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