Be Ye Therefore (Im)perfect

Take a look around you. Odds are pretty high that there is someone in your vicinity who is better than you at something, or somethings for that matter.There is a girl who reads her scriptures more often than you do. There is a man who has developed his talents better, or who has more visible talents than you have. You may look at these different people around you and feel inadequate. You may turn to the scriptures for comfort, only to read about the sinless life of Christ and the commandment to follow him. And you may come across Matthew 5:48 - 

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which art in heaven is perfect.

Perfect seems to be a pretty high standard, and you may falter in the face of such an overwhelming demand from God, but let me assure you,

Our God is a loving God and would never give you a standard you could not meet.

I turn now to Elder Russel M. Nelson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in my faith, who gave us deeper insight into what Christ meant when he told us to be perfect: "In Matthew 5:48, the term perfect was translated from the Greek teleios, which means 'complete.'...Please note that the word does not imply 'freedom from error'; it implies 'achieving a distant objective'."

God, therefore, is not demanding a faultless life. 

God is asking us to be the best we can be, to live our lives in a way that allows us to accomplish everything we have the ability to accomplish. And He will fill in when we can't do anymore for ourselves.

Tonight I urge you to ask yourself, and ask your Father in Heaven, what you can achieve, and for what purpose God put you on this earth. What work has Heavenly Father prepared for you to do? What does He hope for you; what wonderful things does He have planned in your future to help shape you into that "complete" person He would have you be? What are the goals He has in mind for you?

I guarantee that it's not to be the prettiest girl at homecoming.

It is so much more than that.

So stop comparing yourself to those around you. Take confidence in the fact that God has a distinct finished product in mind for you, and it is unique from everyone else's. Don't look at the window God is making one person into, all gleaming smooth glass, ready to let in light, and get discouraged when you see the blackened metal He is creating you out of. You may not see it now, but He is making you into a torch, ready to radiate light to all corners of the world. And if you let Him, He will make you the most perfect torch that has ever burned.

Be ye therefore confident, for God shall make you complete.