Genesis 17:1 AMPC
“Walk and live habitually before Me and be perfect (blameless, wholehearted, complete).”

God requires holiness and purity. He can be in intimate and continuous relationship on no other ground. But that is our impossibility and it is inconceivable to the broken that we could hope for such a ‘blamelessness.’

What God requires of us is not a demand for our performance but the possibility of His own character imparted to us in His Son. His commandment is simply an invitation to partake of His gift of holiness. In Christ.

A child would clap his hands and say, “Oh joy!” We adultish believers hear that call and judge it with either “Oh, I can do that” – which is pride – or “Well, I can never live up to that” – which is also pride!

But the worst pride is this: I say, “It is impossible to be perfect.” And that is blank unbelief against the shocking hope held out and repeated in Scripture.