Dearest 'Tic... may you have peace!
My Lord has granted it to me to provide an answer, if you will permit me. Thank you.
First, you have misunderstood the words of my Lord when he said that we must be 'perfect' as my Father is 'perfect'. That 'perfection' had to do with being 'perfect'... in love. Loving our ENEMIES, rather than just those we consider friends. You might want to go back to verse 43... and start there.
Does JAH love His enemies? Indeed, the answer is yes, in that He COULD simply rid the earth of all of them (and yeah, He did that once), but instead, He gave His Son as a 'ransom' for ALL of mankind... and has provided a 'door' whereby ANY who 'wish' it, no matter their ethnic background, gender, nationality, status, appearance, whathaveyou... can come before Him. Some may not 'see' the love in that... but considering our OWN 'thirst' for vengeance when wronged, and my Father HAS been 'wronged' by 'earthling' man, I most certainly can.
As regards my Father being 'faithful'... my Lord has said that if faith 'is the assured expectation of the things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities, though not beheld', then, yes, He IS 'faithful'. How so? In that although it APPEARS that NONE of us would ever learn to worship Him 'in spirit and in truth', He KNEW some of us would... and so provided my Lord as a ransom... BASED ON THAT FAITH.
The problem is, we get blurry in our understanding of what words mean, because we have been misled by 'earthling' man as to their application. That is why my Lord said:
"You are searching the SCRIPTURES...
because you THINK that by means of THEM...
you will get life.
And THESE (the scriptures)...
are the VERY ones that bear witness...
about ME (my Lord, the Son of God, JAHESHUA MISCHAJAH).
And yet...
YOU DO NOT WANT TO COME...
TO ME...
that you may have life."
We can read, read, read, read and READ the Bible, 'Tic, and TRY to understand its message. OR... we can simply go to the One ABOUT whom it is written... and ask him.
Revelation 3:17, 18
But doing so... takes 'faith'. And 'faith'... 'is not the possession of all men.' But, all one needs to DO... is ask for it (faith)... and he WILL 'receive'.
I, myself, SJ, have spoken to you just as I have heard it from my Lord, JAHESHUA MISCHAJAH, Son of the Holy One of Israel, JAH OF ARMIES.
I bid you peace,
A slave of Christ,
SJ