This word is submitted by Ray Puen (raypuen@sbcglobal.net)

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                                 Be Perfect 

Don't be perplexed about My invitation for you to be perfect even as I, your 
Father in heaven, am perfect.  Understand what 'perfection' requires and you 
won't wonder at its 'impossibility'. 

Behold the tomato seedling. It is small, perhaps weak and scrawny, holding 
nothing but a promise. There is no tomato fruit to harvest. Yet it is perfect 
in its development. It has roots, has stems and leaves, and its DNA will 
cause the plant to produce the table tomatoes you are hoping for. Transplant 
it into rich soil in a planter and water it judiciously. 

Now look at it again a couple of weeks later. It is larger, has more stems 
and more leaves and is taller. Still no tomatoes, but at its stage of 
development, it has all that it possibly can have. It is 'perfect'. 

Come back a month later, and you will find a nice healthy plant with lots 
of leaves. It is taller and has some buds appearing. The promise of nice 
ripe tomatoes is still off in the not-too-distant future, but the plant as 
it has grown to this size is 'perfect'. 

The plant is now drooping with the weight of green tomatoes that have 
developed from the flowering buds and the plant must be propped up with 
stakes. You smile at the visible progress, and even more at the prospect of 
luscious tomatoes to grace your table. That's not too far off now, but the 
plant at this stage is 'perfect'. It has achieved all that it is supposed to 
and can be considered complete. 

And now the green tomatoes have ripened into wonderfully tasty tomatoes. This 
is the moment you've been waiting for. Is it perfect to you? Of course! You 
are delighted with the results. But did you know that this plant was 'perfect' 
at every stage of development? It had completed what it was supposed to in 
its growth to that point. 

That's what I'm looking for in you. You can be perfect. You can be complete 
at any stage of your development. Each person grows at a different rate. But 
no one needs to wait until 'maturity' to expect perfection, because you can 
be perfect--complete--at any point in your Christian growth.