Without a little explanation the command Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” seems an impossible idea.
Let’s explain what perfect means when God is using the term. It does not mean that everything you do is flawless, unquestioned, or unimpeachable. People like that get translated to heaven. Poof – they have no reason to be here, and Enoch and Elisha qualify, and possibly others that we’ve never heard of.
Perfect means, in the Greek original, mature. If you have ever eaten a green apple you know what immature is. You will probably get a stomachache. Mature in this sense means growth is complete. Use before that time is a mistake.
The perfect person is one who is trained by God and suited to his or her purpose in life. It does not mean you, if you get to this state, are in agreement with everyone as life continues to go on around you with all the imperfections of government and culture. It does not mean that you make no mistakes. We’d all like that. It means that the call originally on your life can be fulfilled.
We believers have a problem with timing. We can get married too soon, to the wrong person, or end up in the wrong place, doing something either too little or too late. I have often told people that the time I was failure and I was fired I learned a whole lot more than when I was successful.
A perfect thing cannot be replaced. I am no musician but I am told Sir James Galway is the perfect musician on the flute, and that silver, gold and platinum are perfect materials for a flute. Galway owns all three kinds. Check this website for the complications and varieties of flutes.
http://ws.conn-elmer.com/archives/keynotesmagazine/article/?uid=260. This master musician gained international fame and fortune when the two are put together. God wants to use us this way; He is the musician and you are the instrument of His plan.
It may take some time to get you to that place; people give up, get tired, listen to the wrong voices, and become lazy and distracted. But for the mature believer there is a life goal of a perfection especially designed to fit you. Look for it.