Can You Handle the Curve Balls?

BiBi’s Blessings

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48

I’ll never, ever forget sitting on the hillside, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and hearing Kay Arthur teach the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5,6,7)

To sit on the very hill where my Lord once stood, to hear the very words that He spoke there was more than my mind had ever thought to imagine.

It was as if I were only steps away from Him and as if I could feel His eyes looking straight into mine.
“He loves me,” I thought, “and He wants me know how to live.” I cried, just as I did at every other place in that Holy Land.

God, garbed in flesh…

knowing each person in His audience and each person that would ever hear or read the words that were now breathed out from His mouth.

I think that perhaps He knew when to let His eyes fall on each person, piercing their hearts, as if “I know how your heart needs to hear this, my child.”

The ultimate purpose for every man’s life is to be a reflection of God. That’s what it means to be made in His image; to mirror Him. So, I guess that’s why He ended His teaching there by saying, “Be perfect.”

Lest anyone think, “Yeah, I got this,” He began by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” There are two Greek words that He could have used for “poor.” One (pene) means “poor, but able to help oneself.”
The other (ptochois) means “helpless.”
You want to take a guess which He used?
Blessed are those who know that they are utterly helpless (ptochois) in their ability to be a reflection of God. UTTERLY HELPLESS! I just reckon that’s all of us.

What does the word “perfect” even mean? Glad you asked!
The word for perfect that He used was “teleios.” It means, “complete…
in labor, growth, mental, and moral character; full of age, A MAN.” Gosh, I love that! My BFI version might be, “Just grow up; act like a mature man (or woman); in EVERY WAY AND EVERYTHING!”

Life’s hard sometimes . It’s going to throw us some curve balls. Those 3 chapters describe some of them. Will I be wise enough to recognize them and hit that thing outta the ballpark when it happens?

I sure do hope so!
After all, right there on that hill where I sat, He loved me enough to tutor me on how to handle the curve balls as a mature (perfect) man.

“But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good from evil. Therefore,… let us press on to maturity.” Heb. 5:14, 6:1

I’m kind of a fan of solid food! I guess the question is; “Am I mature enough to handle it?”

You? ❤️