Do you ever long in your heart to be perfect? That is, perfect in thought, words and actions, not to mention the motivations of the heart. Isn’t it usually after muddling up something and revealing our very human imperfections that we really wish we could be perfect? Alas, perfection only belongs to One. To find and see true perfection we must look at Him, Jesus Christ.

Jesus could have come to this earth as a King upon an earthly throne. He could have had an earthly army and demonstrated His omnipotence by dictating His wishes upon the earth. Instead of forcing the world to bow down, He Himself made the grand gesture of bowing and took upon Himself the form of a servant. In God’s amazing wisdom, He determined that the best position for Christ to reveal Himself to mankind was as a servant, and what an amazing, perfect servant He was!

Consider Jesus as He healed Peter’s mother who was sick with a high fever. He ministered to her and raised her up. That evening all the sick in the city of Capernaum were brought to Him for healing, and the Bible tells us in Mark 1:33 that “all the city” was at His door. What a tiring time! Yet He was up the next morning a “great while before day” to find a solitary place to pray.  Couldn’t He have pampered himself and slept in?

As Jesus preached the Word in the synagogues throughout Galilee, He was met with crowds of people. On one occasion there was a leper who said to Jesus, “If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.”  The Word of God states that Jesus was moved with compassion and touched him. His reply was so simple, “I will; be thou clean” (Matthew 8:2-3). There was no great fanfare or any type of oratory that proclaimed in a self-aggrandizing way what a wonderful man Jesus was for doing this miracle. In fact, Jesus charged the man to keep silent about what had just taken place. Keep silent? It would be hard not to tell the world! His words, actions and deeds were absolutely perfect.

Jesus was a master communicator. Once He was on the Sea of Galilee, and the multitude was so great that He entered a ship and taught the searching people from there. He taught many things by parables and instructed them in sound doctrine. What a picture this brings to our imaginations! The rolling sea, a fishing vessel and a true-hearted and earnest Man speaking with His heart exposed to the multitude who were straining to hear every word. This was a picture of perfection.

Jesus sent out His disciples to preach and teach. When they came back to Him, He was interested and listened to all the things that had happened to them. They told Him about what they had done and what they had taught. He gave His undivided attention to all. In His perfection, He loved and cared greatly for His friends.

Jesus did not miss any details of life. In the temple in Jerusalem, He noticed a widow and the two mites that she put in the treasury. He did not discount the fact that it was a tiny sum of money. He realized that for her this was great – whereas others gave out of their abundance, she was giving all that she had. He saw beyond the outward appearance. His judgment of what took place was perfect. I am so glad that Christ can see the whole picture of our lives!

One emotionally-packed evening, Jesus and His disciples were in an upper room for the annual Passover meal. Scripture states, “Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself” (John 13:3-4). At a moment in time when He could have said, “Worship me,” He chose instead to take the place of the lowliest servant. Of course, that was the night before He was crucified for the sins of the world. He was perfect in serving, perfect in giving, and He became the perfect Sacrifice.

Jesus was, is and always will be the Perfect One. As we look at Christ, we can be greatly encouraged, for He imputed His righteousness to us. Realizing our sins and imperfections, He died for us. The King of Creation gave His blood on the cross that we might experience His forgiveness of sins and have His special presence in our lives. So we, the ones who muddle things up, the ones who willingly sin, the ones who struggle to get things right, may be counted worthy to have a sweet relationship with the Perfect One. What a wondrous idea! What a wondrous truth! In His perfection, He loved us.

Written by Alissa Senn. This article was published in the Summer 2016 edition of The Beautiful Spirit magazine.

*Photo is the Sea of Galilee by Chris Gallimore.

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