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b'READ: HEBREWS 10:14-18; JAMES 1:2-7; 1 PETER 1:13-16\\n\\n\\n\\nSometimes, we feel like we should be perfect, having no faults and never doing anything wrong. We might read James 1:4, which says, \\u201cFor when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing,\\u201d and then throw up our hands in frustration and say, \\u201cBut I\\u2019ve tried lots of times before, and I just can\\u2019t do it. I give up\\u2014I\\u2019ll never be perfect!\\u201d\\n\\n\\n\\nPerfection is a tricky concept. Try thinking about it this way: When a baby arrives, people often say, \\u201cShe\\u2019s perfect,\\u201d as they cuddle and coo over the new addition to their community. But why? Babies can\\u2019t do what adults can do, yet people describe them as \\u201cperfect.\\u201d But if a baby were to stay like a newborn for six months and not grow at all, people would be worried. So, when we talk about babies being perfect, we often mean they\\u2019re just right for their age.\\n\\n\\n\\nLet\\u2019s look at James 1:4 again. It uses the word \\u201cperfect\\u201d in a similar way. It\\u2019s not saying Christians never do anything wrong. The fact is, only Jesus meets God\\u2019s standard for perfection, which is why we need to put our trust in Him to have a relationship with God. Even though we\\u2019ll keep struggling with sin until the day Jesus returns and makes all things new, verses like James 1:4 give us hope, saying that as we grow in our relationship with Jesus, we mature spiritually. So, to be a \\u201cperfect\\u201d Christian doesn\\u2019t mean we never mess up; it means we grow and learn from our failures, and we patiently trust God to continue shaping us to be more like Jesus.\\n\\n\\n\\nIf we\\u2019re perfect in that sense, it doesn\\u2019t mean we\\u2019ll never sin, maybe by losing our temper for example, but it does mean we\\u2019ll learn to say we\\u2019re sorry when we do. It means we\\u2019ll learn to depend on God to help us be self-controlled when we feel upset. As we grow spiritually, we can remember that Jesus is walking with us every step of the way. And we can remember the hope He gives us in Philippians 1:6, \\u201cGod, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.\\u201d \\u2022 A. W. Smith\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 Have you ever wondered how you could possibly be perfect or holy as God is (Matthew 5:48)? In one sense, you are already perfect if you know Jesus as your Savior because He has given you His perfection and forgiven your sins! But God also says you are \\u201cbeing made holy\\u201d (Hebrews 10:14). We become more like Jesus as we grow in our relationship with Him. What might it look like for us to be patient with ourselves and other Christians as we learn and grow together?\\n\\n\\n\\nHe forever made perfect those who are being made holy. Hebrews 10:14b (NLT)'