In Matthew 5:48 it says: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." DEGREESp How can we be perfect? Is Jesus commanding us to do something that is impossible? That only He can do? DEGREESp The context of this verse is about loving our enemy. To do good to those that hurt you. To repay good for evil. To love even in situations where your flesh would normally want to fight back. DEGREESp This is something that God does to those that hurt Him and sin and rebel against God. Instead of hating, God does the opposite and still loves the sinner. He keeps giving sinners chance after chance after chance to repent and be saved. To do the right thing. It is a difficult request that we do the same but God gives us the grace to love the "unlovable." DEGREESp Since we are the body of Christ he loves those who hurt us (and Him) by having us love as Christ does. And through this, God works His conviction and salvation through us. Not that we pay the price of our enemies' sins. But rather as Christ's ambassadors we show mercy and compassion so that others may realize their sin and then repent due to the mercy we show the sinner. This is how God many times does His redemptive work to motivate the sinner to repent and come to God for salvation. DEGREESp In this work Saint Teresa of Avila teaches us how to cultivate these virtues of perfection so that we can become like Christ. You will find Saint Teresa's writings to be very helpful in developing in these virtues of pe