perfection and the need to accept myself

[anti_nietzsche]

Obviously, striving for perfection is a biblical, christian idea. Jesus spoke about it, Paul mentions it too.

But lately I think that perhaps a truly biblical idea of perfection is in fact a minimalistic concept.

You don't add and add and add, instead you take the most important things and keep them pure.

Some artists understand perfection in art in that way. You take a marble block, and you cut off it and whitle it away, until you have your finished product, what you wanted to create.

Any piece of art is meant to be finished. Eventually you just reach the point at which doing anything more to your piece of art, would destroy it.

Now the pieces that make up a perfect christian man are always simple ones. But aren't we already thinking beyond Jesus' minimalism again here? Perhaps we need to deliver our baby finally, we've been pregnant for too long. The baby wants to be held in mother's hands, it wants to breathe, it wants to see the sun. Simplicity in life.

[CHB]

Sounds like you are speaking of dying to self? I think it takes a little bit at a time. When you are no longer tempted by a thing then I would think you have died to it. Putting off the old man so to speak.

Just my thinking anyway.

CHB

[Lonely Summer]

"I long ago gave up any attempt at perfection" - Bob Dylan

[Molly]

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

--Heb 6:1

For the Christian, perfection should have the connotation of relationship, not a particular act or deed.  God says to Abraham, walk before me and be thou perfect.  It is the act of walking before God that makes Abraham perfect, not anything he says or does.   We achieve a state of completion when we are in right relationship with God which is equivalent to perfection.   We see this explained more clearly in the Greek word for perfection here:

"perfection"
G5047
τελειότης
teleiotēs
tel-i-ot'-ace
From G5046; (the state) completeness (mentally or morally): - perfection (-ness).


It is by virtue of our relationship with Christ that we are perfect, that is, complete,  and not any other thing.  All growth, all repentance, all action, all thoughts will grow and mature out of this one fact:  we are walking humbly in a deeper and deeper relationship with our God.  That is perfection for the Christian.