No Short Cut to Perfection

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Eph. 4:13-15).

Unity of faith, knowledge/revelation of who Jesus is, measuring up to Him—these things are what perfection looks like. It is summed up verse 15:“may grow up into him in all things.” This sounds impossible. The whole notion of a perfect people is inconceivable to our finite minds. We look around with eyes of flesh and cannot imagine one another perfect and most of us cannot see perfection happening in our own lives. Since perfection seems unattainable and we cannot get past the things that keep us from it, we look for short cuts or ways to make it easier.

We live in a Swiffer, McDonalds, check-yourself-out at WalMart world. We have learned how to make things quick and easy for ourselves. Sometimes though, there is just no substitute for the elbow grease of a mop and bucket for tough stains on a floor. Nothing can substitute for a good home-cooked meal, and while most may try to avoid it, there still are things best done by a human cashier. When it comes to the perfecting of the Church, we cannot afford another shortcut failure. Sometimes we lose people faster than we find new ones. We have to get this business of unity, knowledge and measuring up to Him right if we plan to make heaven.

Don’t settle for another “love program” this year. Don’t fall into a quick fix. Our theme verse eludes to a length of time (till) it will take for us all to reach perfection. This doesn’t give us a specific length of time or span in measurements that we can estimate. This means we must work every hour as if it is our last.

May His Spirit and His Word work on me, work on you, work on us all, till we all come to the perfection He requires. When it comes to the ABM work of your local church, don’t take a short cut. Go the extra mile for that soul who is straying. Take the time to teach that faithful member how to be a disciple. Make sure you are operating this auxiliary of love and perfection to its fullest capacity “till we all come.”