369. Make Perfect
Hebrews 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
We have this as a wonderful promise from the Lord: He is making us perfect. That claim may seem presumptuous, since everyone knows, “Nobody’s perfect.” But it is still true: God is in the process of making us perfect. He isn’t done yet, but we have the promise that He will finish the job. When you think about it long enough you realize that this the way it must be. We, who are far less than perfect, are being made perfect so that we can live a perfect life with a perfect God in a perfect eternal heaven and earth. If we were not perfect we would not be with God and He could not be with us. So Christ makes us perfect.
“Perfect” here means perfect in every good work to do His will; He works in us what is well pleasing to God. Just think: “every good work,” “do his will,” well pleasing in His sight.” This is all a part of God’s promise. It is difficult, but inspiring, to dream about living such a life, where everything we did and said was a good work that brought a blessing to others, uplifted lives, and was pleasing to God. If everyone around us were always doing God’s will in every way all the time then the harmony and beauty and wonder and love of that world would be beyond description. And that is just the kind of kingdom God is preparing for us, and preparing us for.
Perfect means holy and pure, without flaw or blemish, but more importantly, perfect means whole, complete, nothing lacking. We are so fragmented, broken, and double minded that we couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be a unified, integrated, together, and whole person. God does not want, and we do not want, such broken and incomplete people to be living in a perfect environment. Therefore, God is making us perfect. We may not like the process now, but the result will be worth the patience.