Matthew 5:48 is troubling in the New International Version of the Bible.  Jesus says,

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Ummm.  Yikes? 

Today I have been inspired and encouraged by the way Eugene Peterson renders that in The Message.

“In a word, what I’m saying is grow up.  You’re kingdom subjects.  Now live like it.  Live out your God-created identity.  Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

I love this idea about what it means to be perfect.  To be perfect just means to grow into the people God created us to be.  Peterson has Jesus saying, “Grow up.”  Perhaps no two words are more precious and more needed in the church than these.  Grow up.  Stop being petty.  Get over yourself.  Get a life — the life I destined you for before you were ever born. 

I turn 40 next July and I think maybe I’m just beginning to live out my God-created identity.  Or maybe it’s just now beginning to feel comfortable for me and like something I understand in some way and am proud of.

Grow up.  Put away the attitudes of your past.  Put down the constant whining of that part of you that is still very much a baby.  Grow up.  Realize that you will not live forever.  Your life ebbs away even as you type.  Only babies, only children live as if there will always be time.  Time to love and laugh and work as hard as possible and to invest in those we love.  Time to live in peace with ourselves and with each other.  Time to shuffle off one life of idyllic naivety and take on another — but not the life of cynical jadedness that some believe is the alternative.  The alternative, or the natural progression, from idyllic naivety is not toward cynical jadedness, but toward mature wisdom.  Cynical jadedness is an imposter.  It masquerades as wisdom but is really just pompous negativity, dismissive of every kind of joy and sweetness and innocence and faith that it finds.

To grow up is not to become cynical and skeptical and jaded.  To grow up is not to claim that some holy book has every rule necessary for successful living already written out.  To grow up is to take on the mantle of a God-created identity and learn to live in it.  Anything that comes out of me that is not consistent with God’s character is not part of the identity he created for me.

I like the band Megadeth.  Last night I went to see them in concert in Grand Rapids.  As I stood in line, looking quite out of place, my mind began to wander.  This was a tough crowd by almost any standard and I imagined doing something to accidentally provoke a confrontation.  As that movie rolled in my head I asked myself again and again, “Would you have the courage to allow someone to hit you and to not hit back?”  That is, after all, clearly what Jesus required.  The longer I concentrated on that question the more nervous I became that, should I ever be in such a situation, I might fail to respond as I should.  Thinking back on that episode in my devotional time today I realized that I displayed both maturity and immaturity.  It was mature for me to consider taking Christ’s words seriously and “turning the other cheek” (this is one of Christ’s commands most frequently dismissed).  It was mature for me to want to do what Christ commanded.  But it was immature for me to be fearful or overly concerned.  After all, not only was it all in my imagination anyway, but fear is not from God.  And since my concern over whether I would do what would please Jesus led to a bit of self-castigation that I in fact might not, that was clearly not from God.  God does not grow us up by guilt-tripping, criticizing, or belittling.

It is easy to fall into ditches in the spiritual life.  It seems those who fall into the ditches on the left often deride those who have fallen into the ditches on the right and vice versa.  As for me, I wish to avoid ditches on both sides and simply grow up, one step at a time, as I learn what it means to live out my God-created identity.

Eugene Peterson has a striking translation of an account in Matthew chapter 9 of two blind men who come to Jesus for healing. Jesus asks them, “Do you really believe I can do this?” They answer, “Why yes, Master.” So Jesus touches their eyes and says something striking to them. He says, “Become what you believe.” Other translations render that, “Let it be to you according to your faith.” I had always translated that in my mind simply as, “Let it be done.” Peterson captures something huge with his rendering.

Become what you believe. Every day I am becoming what I believe. My belief determines my vision of the world and my vision of the world determines my attitudes and my attitudes determine my feelings and my feelings ultimately determine much of what I do and what I do determines what consequences and/or benefits come back to me in this life. Right now, even as I type, I am becoming what I believe. I become what I believe as I make decisions about ways to invest my money and my time and my talents and passions and gifts. I become what I believe as I choose how to love my wife and kids. I become what I believe as I determine where to go to church and how involved to get there and whether or not to let other people into my world.

Become what you believe. Becoming. It’s the great thing so few are interested in. Everyone wants to be something, but very few want to become anything. Most people want to be rich, but few want to watch their spending, save and invest their money wisely, and avoid debt. Everyone wants a great body, but few want to eat properly and go to the gym. Everyone wants a great marriage, but few want to read books, go to counseling and seminars, and invest the time it takes to have a great marriage. Everyone wants respect, but far fewer want to earn the respect of others one day, one decision, at a time.

Become what you believe. Everybody says they believe in something. If it’s true that every day I am becoming what I believe, then I can look into my life and find out what I’m becoming, and that will clue me in to what I REALLY believe. What, or who, am I becoming? Am I becoming more loving, more gracious, more generous, more patient, more humble — that is, more willing to look for and confess my flaws and failures? If so, I really do believe in a God who told me this is the kind of life he wants for me. If not, I do not really believe in him, regardless of what I might say.

Become what you believe. I can say we are becoming what we believe every day, and that is true, but it is not enough. There are some things I can believe but I will never become them without direct intervention from God. These blind men could have believed all day every day that Christ could heal them, yet without his direct intervention, his command, “Become what you believe,” they’d have died blind. Because it’s not JUST about believing. Yes, God wants things to happen in our lives that require faith, but they will also require intervention — God’s direct activity in our lives. This might come through miraculous and instantaneous means. More likely it will come daily, through decisions and actions and relationships.

Becoming what we believe happens through a mysterious combination of us and God. And the thing to always remember is that everyone is going to become what they believe in some basic way. This doesn’t mean that a person who believes he/she will win the lottery will become rich. It actually means something deeper than that. Those who believe they will win the lottery and therefore play every day often tend to believe that the best and biggest moments in their lives are out on the horizon somewhere and not right here in front of our eyes waiting to be seen and experienced; that life will happen to them instead of that they must make life happen. That is the underlying belief and as a result they will probably end up not only disappointed that they do not win the lottery, but disillusioned from having missed the real blessings and beauty of life along the way.

Become what you believe. It’s going to happen, just maybe not in the way you think. And that’s why what you believe matters more than anything.

In a previous post I said the following…

Something I am learning in counseling is how true it is that a tree is known by its fruit.  Most of my life I have applied this to people and behaviors, but am only just now learning to apply it to attitudes and perspectives.  If an attitude or perspective I have logically bears fruit of resentment, anger, frustration, and other ungodly things, then the attitude or perspective is wrong.

I have been thinking a great deal about this lately.  The power of this observation to change my life is stunning.  I can look at any negative attitude or emotion in my life, trace it back to the underlying attitude, and find something wrong with that attitude.

Examples:

1. Let’s say I’m beginning to feel resentful that I am doing so much work around the house and my wife is doing comparatively little (it’s safe to use this example because it would never happen in a million years – my wife is nothing if not a hard worker).  I need to ask myself what I really believe is true about my wife’s character.  Do I really believe she is lazy?  Do I really believe she cares less about the family than I do?  If I really believe this, chances are good we would need more help than a quick attitude adjustment would bring us anyway.  If I don’t believe this, there’s something wrong with my attitude.

2. Let’s say I loan money to a friend who keeps saying he’s going to pay it back and after three months still has not.  I am getting increasingly frustrated and perhaps a bit resentful.  My choices here are to confront my friend or to let it go, but either way I must let go of the frustration and resentment and this requires a new attitude — learning to see the whole situation from a new perspective — givng up my claim to having been wronged.  Even if I was wronged, hanging onto that claim isn’t going to do any good.

3. Let’s say I am upset with my kids because of stuff they are leaving around the house, and I have perhaps begun to nurse some bitterness toward them.  I must remember that parenting is a leadership job, and leaders are always responsible for those they lead.  If the kids aren’t being responsible, I have probably failed to teach them responsibility.  The bad news here is that the finger of blame points back to me.  The good news is that the situaton is probably still within my control if I recognize it and respond accordingly.

4. Let’s say as a leader I see immaturity in the people I lead.  See number 3 above.

I cannot think of any exceptions.  If an attitude or perspective I have logically bears fruit of resentment, anger, frustration, and other ungodly things, then the attitude or perspective is wrong.  It must go, or undergo renovation.  The difference between people who attain emotional and spiritual maturity and those who do not is that those who eventually do are willing to realize and apply this truth in their lives.