«Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect»(Matthew 5:48).
Yes, I am a Christian, but I love to eat junk food whenever I can. Yes, I am a Christian, but lately, I have not been going to church because I have a relationship with a married man. Yes, I am a Christian, but once in a while I have to tell a little lie so that people don’t meddle in my life so much. Yes, I am a Christian, but on my income tax form I don’t report everything I earn. Yes, I am a Christian, but I am so busy that I leave reading the Bible and prayer for Sabbath because I don’t have time during the week. Yes, I am a Christian, even though I sometimes say bad words because my parents also said them. Yes, I am a Christian, but . . . I believe that something is failing in this way of understanding Christianity.
In the gospel, Jesus invites us to be «perfect,» even though we must also be careful with this word. It is not that a person can reach the heights of an impeccable Christianity here on this earth; no, that is impossible. Flawlessness does not exist. %ere is not even one person who is perfect (see Romans 3:10—18). It has to do with continuing in pursuit of Christian maturity: «In your thinking be adults» (1 Corinthians 14:20, NIV). It has to do with attaining, little by little, that mature way of living Christianity.
Jesus is talking to us here about sanctification, which is a process, a progressive edification of the character so that it is more and more like Christ’s. «The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will be seen in broad and distinct contrast to His perfect nature. This is evidence that Satan’s delusions have lost their power; that the vivifying influence of the Spirit of God is arousing you. No deep-seated love for Jesus can dwell in the heart that does not realize its own sinfulness. The soul that is transformed by the grace of Christ will admire His divine character; but if we do not see our own moral deformity, it is unmistakable evidence that we have not had a view of the beauty and excellence of Christ» (White, Steps to Christ, ch. 7, p. 65).
Jesus is seeking people who want to be Christians one hundred percent, who delight in having a glimpse of the excellence of Christ in order to recognize their own imperfections and to begin a process of progressive edification of character.