Make No Mistake About It

S - Hebrews 5:5-10 (NIV): "So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father." And he says in another place, "You are a priest forever,       in the order of Melchizedek." During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek."

O - The perfect son was made perfect by learning obedience from what he suffered.  Though always sinless and in that sense perfect, Jesus, the perfect man, needed to become mature or complete in his perfection.  Like the first man and woman, Jesus was perfect and yet ungrown-- not at the fullest maturity.  This is not how we normally think or talk about perfection and yet it is how the Scriptures talk about the perfection of Jesus.  Once made perfect in this way "he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him".  Jesus did not take upon himself the glory or the hardship.  He took upon himself reverent submission and fierce personal loyalty to the one who had sent him.  We think of perfection as never making a mistake and heaven thinks of perfection as reaching or completing the fullness of design. 

A - Religion calls me to an impossible ideal based on the no mistake life of Jesus.  The Kingdom calls me to the highest place made possible by the beautiful life of Jesus in reverent submission and death defeating obedience. Unlike Jesus I will never be one who makes no mistakes.  Like Jesus I can be one who, through reverent submission and fierce personal loyalty (trust) reaches the perfection intend by not only my design but by his irrepressible life. Today, perfection can grow in me as I humble myself under his mighty hand, love and serve others and trust him in doing the work of believing. 

P - Lord who is perfect in ways I can't even know,

Thank you for wanting the perfection in us to be so complete that you would come and make the way, blaze the trail, become the guide, reason and ability for us to grow into it.  We will be like you and we will see you as you are.  O Lord, what I do see/glimpse now is so profoundly beautiful, powerful, awesome.  Today let and cause your life to come into me and to come out of me … unto new wineskins, mulberry trees in the ocean and that which is too wonderful for me.
All my love,
Steve