Perfect Expectations

I was talking with one of our members, who is a carpenter, last week about building our church. He was talking about when he could come in and lead some teams doing some finishing work in the church. And he said he will try to calm his standards when working with other people in our church. I had heard that he is very accurate and precise in his work as a carpenter. He wants it to look perfect.
My understanding is that with some carpentry you don’t have to be exact because it will be covered by drywall and paint. But the finished carpentry is visible and to look its best it needs to be cut and fit together just right. I encouraged him to not take it easy and expect the best from our people because we want the church to look great and be done well.
Jesus was also a great carpenter. He knew precisely what he had to do to offer us forgiveness for our sins. And then he sent the Holy Spirit to be our guide in living our lives. Because we have the Holy Spirit to power our living Jesus also does not lower his standards on his expectations for our lives. Jesus even says in Matthew 5:48 "You must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." Now that is high expectations.
Before you get scared away I want to say I don't think being perfect means we need to never make mistakes or sin. It is a calling to not purposefully sin. But mostly it is a calling to try to live with a perfect love that only wants God's best for everyone. If we allow God's perfect love to guide us through the power of the Holy Spirit we can strive to live as Jesus lived.
I think this is also a goal set for us because if the goal is set lower that is all we would strive for. I know personally if I lower my expectations then I usually only achieve that lower expectation. If my goal is the perfect expectation, I may not achieve perfection, but I will strive for more and give my best effort. God wants us to have goals in our lives that are above our ability so that we will need to rely on the Holy Spirit's power to achieve our goals.
So in my life I continue to strive for God to spread his perfect love as best he can in someone like me.

MISSION: What area of your life do you need the Holy Spirit's power to achieve more? Share this with someone who will encourage you to strive for more.