Wholeness Part 7
May 25, 2026
Wholeness Part 7
“Therefore, you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” —Matthew 5:48
At first hearing, these words can feel heavy, like a demand to become flawless, untouched by weakness, beyond failure. But hidden within them is not a burden, but a pathway.
The original Greek word translated as “perfect” is teleios… a word far richer than our modern understanding allows. It does not mean without flaws. It means mature, complete, fully formed. Whole. When these words were later translated into English in the early 17th century, “perfect” still carried this sense of wholeness and completion. But over time, the meaning shifted. What once meant “fully developed” came to mean “without defect” or an impossible spotless faultlessness. And in that shift, something essential was lost.
We began to believe that to follow Jesus was to become flawless, as if the spiritual life were a process of polishing away every imperfection. But that was never the call. The call was never to become less human, but more fully human.
Wholeness is not flawlessness. Wholeness is integration of all the parts of us. And those familiar with the Enneagram's spirituality understand the spiritual nature of integration. It is the steady, courageous work of bringing together all that we are: light and the shadow, the strength and the wound, faith and the doubt, and allowing them to belong. It is not the denial of our wounds, our failures, but their inclusion. It is not the erasing of our ills, but their healing.
To be whole as God is whole is to reflect divine nature. We are not asked to create worlds, but to live with compassion. We are not asked to be without limits, but to love without exclusion. If God holds all things together in mercy, then our wholeness is found in doing the same within ourselves and toward others. This is why our understanding of God matters so deeply. If we imagine a God who demands perfection, we will spend our lives hiding or striving. But if we come to know a God who embraces, includes, and redeems, then we begin to live the same way… with ourselves and with others.
Over the years, I have known a few people I believed were perfect. They worked in a higher mind; their ability to endure and forgive was unmatched. And yet, when I eventually saw their flaws, I felt something unexpected. It was not disappointment, but relief. Their imperfections did not diminish them. They revealed them.
Their honesty, their willingness to acknowledge their limitations without shame or denial made them more real, more human, more whole. They didn’t take themselves too seriously, and they had the gift of laughing at themselves. Their flaws were not signs of failure, but evidence of integration. Nothing was hidden. Nothing was exiled. Everything belonged.
This is wholeness. And this is our hope: that we do not have to become someone else to be whole. We only have to become fully ourselves, held together in love.
Spiritual practice: Spend time reflecting on your image of God. Is it a presence you can grow into, or a standard you can never reach? Gently allow your understanding to expand toward a God whose wholeness includes compassion, patience, and welcome. Create a mandala. As you draw or design, let each shape, color, or pattern represent a part of your life—joys, wounds, questions, hopes. Notice how, together, they form something complete. Let it remind you: wholeness is not found in having perfect pieces, but in allowing every piece to belong.
Self-inquiry: Why might it not bring relief when we discover that someone we admire has weaknesses?
What feelings might it trigger in us?
Prayer:
Dear God, I release my striving for perfection. Gather all that I am, seen and unseen, strong and fragile, into your wholeness. Teach me to live from that place. Forgive me for my useless strivings and lift my face to see the total acceptance from you. Amen.
