1 John 3:2b “it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that”

I left off with this quote yesterday. If you have not read “Perfection” then perhaps this would make more sense to you if you would go to that devotional for continuities sake. It is not always easy to pick out thoughts in the middle of a conversation.

The issue at hand is striving for perfection. This quote today will always be a part of that striving effort. We know what we are. We know what we were. Some will be satisfied with their progress, others will not. While I would love to give each and every one of you comfort in your position, it is not my place to do so. That responsibility is not my burden to bear and belongs to another.

John 14:26, 15:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

There is a great reason that one of His titles is Comforter. He knows the condition of your heart with perfection for He is the Spirit of Truth. He knows what you need, He knows when you need it and He knows how you will receive it.

Strife or striving exists within us because we are in fact triune beings. We are body, we are soul and we are spirit. The body is a thing unique in design and function. It is perfect yet susceptible to decay. That is its fallen state. It became something other than its intended purpose and we long for the day when the decay is removed. This is beyond our control.

TBC

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Be honest with yourself. I am not there with you, I will not hear your confession of condition. Do you seek perfection? Do you see perfection as a thing unachievable and have given up trying? Do you know that God sees you in His beloved Son, and His perfection is everything, and you hide in the shadows of His wing?

There is more than one way to approach the subject. Perhaps it is only fair to examine yourself in context and seek to understand your own attitudes about perfection. Or you could search the scriptures and see what they say about approaching perfection.

Exodus 3:5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

John 13:5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

The symbolism here is forgiveness. You cannot approach perfection without forgiveness. Approaching perfection isn’t perfection. Can you get that, or are you still striving for perfection? Well, please consider this then.

Matthew 19:20-21a The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect….

With those words Jesus then pierced the young man’s heart. Jesus did not deny his actions where not right, but that His heart was not perfect. See, know we are getting to the heart of the matter. We must see that our actions often belie our true heart intentions.

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

1 John 3:2-3 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

“it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that”