Be perfect. This is the message many of us receive and absorb from a young age. Achieve, excel, perform at the highest level, but don't make any mistakes. However, sooner or later, we realize that this is an impossible task, even when we do our absolute best.
In response, we tend to try and manage our perfectionism or simply accept ourselves as we are. But both routes tend to leave us feeling like failures and rejected instead. The Christian pursuit of perfection offers a better way - because Christian identity is received, not achieved, there is freedom to strain forward towards perfection without becoming anxious and insecure.