Oh How He loves us...Oh

So I am pleading yesterday that this madness of perfection that I deeply struggle with would end...And here is the verse that I read this morning.  II Corinthians 13:11- "Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace.  And the God of love and peace will be with you."  So God wants me to be a perfectionist? NO!!!  And it was so clear to me within this verse as I read "Aim for perfection..." God opens up the word and I see that I am to capitalize the word Perfection -Capital P- So I could reword this to say "Aim for Jesus," because he is the only perfection I have known, and that is doable.  Instead of aiming for a utopia state of being where the fall no longer encompasses my life here on earth, I am to aim for Perfection himself, Jesus- where one day I will, when the veil is lifted and eternity is my real time, be perfect. The second thing Paul states while writing this letter to the Corinthians is, listen to my appeal...And Paul has a lot to say- but I am led to his writing in Philippians 3 that says-"Not that I have already obtained all this or have been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus (Perfection) has taken hold of for me.  (Paul's appeal-listen up people! Especially you perfectionists out there!)  I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind, and straining towards what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. He continues saying, "All who are mature should take such a view of things.  And if on some point you think differently that God will make it clear to you.  Only let us live up to what we have already attained.. He then encourages the Philippians to follow the example of living they have been taught because..."Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.  Their mind is on earthly things. but our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him (God-Perfection) to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. ( We will be perfect one day!)"
So we can:

1. Aim for Perfection -JESUS
2. Listen to Paul's appeal to -PRESS ON-Press into JESUS
3. Be of one mind....Be connected and in relational right thinking with other members of the body of Christ...
4. Live in peace...Live in peace?  What? I am not happy about the dirt on my floor, the president's choices, the demands of my life, the constant battle outside and inside me...Live in peace...yeah right, Calgon take me away!!!!  But once again I believe that we can capitalize the word Peace and also replace it with that name that is above all names -JESUS-So the statement could read "Aim for Jesus, listen to my appeal-Press into JESUS, Be of one mind, and live in Jesus." He then ends the verse with a comforting thought that as we are aiming for Jesus, Pressing into Jesus, being connected to believers, and living in Jesus, that God who loves us and provides peace will be with us through the whole process.  So I end my thoughts today with a new way to think.  I can now look forward to living as a follower of Perfection.