striving for perfection

Mat 5:48  “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

A common phrase I hear I in teachings every so often is “God doesn’t expect you to be perfect.”  Anyway, it’s almost thrown out there enough that it feels like a scripture quotation or something and I have even found myself using it off and on.  But – what does the above verse say?

Also, in the very same teaching in which we read the above commandment, we also read, ” …whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 5:19)

So, I take that (pretty clearly) to mean that, if we say that God doesn’t really expect us to be perfect  we are lessening this commandment that was given directly from the mouth of Christ.

I understand the heart behind the statement that God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, and I hope to expound on that a little more in the next day or two.  HOWEVER, I think the actual words in that statement, are in direct opposition with what Jesus is saying in these verses.  I think we, as believers, should strive for perfection, with all of the energy and power of the Lord that is at work within us.

The main question now is how we do that.