Week 28 Day 5
Strive for Perfection
Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious.
1 Peter 2:6–7
Jesus, in thy transporting name
What glories meet our eyes!
Thou art the angels’ sweetest theme,
The wonder of the skies.
Oh may our willing hearts confess
Thy sweet, thy gentle sway;
Glad captives of thy matchless grace,
Thy righteous rule obey.
Abraham Lincoln was the kind of man who was always reaching for a higher plane. He wasn’t satisfied with his present self, but always strove to improve his condition. He worked hard on himself, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Where did he get his tenacious self-improvement habits? He gave a hint when he wrote, “The Saviour, I suppose, did not expect that any human creature could be perfect as the Father in heaven; but He said, ‘As your Father in Heaven is perfect, be ye also perfect.’ He set that up as a standard, and He who did most towards reaching that standard attained to the highest degree of moral perfection.” Like Lincoln, we ought to look to the words of Jesus, who taught that we should be the best we can be. Those who strive to be perfect, although they may not arrive there, are sure to be more ideal than those who don’t.