Dear Neighbor,
You were created in the image of God; (Gn 1:27) therefore, you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5:48) but are you perfect? God is love but have you hated anyone? God is faithful but have you been unfaithful? God is compassionate and gracious but have you been uncompassionate and ungracious? God is truth but have you lied? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, you have sinned and fall short of his glory. (Rom 3:23) The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:23)
How wonderful and marvelous it is to be given what we do not deserve. I work a job for a set hourly wage. Every two weeks, my employer pays me for the hours that I worked, the wages that I have earned. I think one of the most difficult passages in all of Scripture is one of the easiest to understand. Jesus said in Matthew 5:48, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” It is difficult because I know that I am not what I ought to be. I have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. I have earned death for my sinning but unlike me, God is compassionate and gracious; therefore, he has given to me what I have not earned; eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is truly wonderful and is truly marvelous! I do not believe that I will ever get over what God has done for me in Jesus Christ.
Michael Peek, BSN, RN, MTS
