Written by Dallas Willard (1935-2013) and Jan Johnson, authors. This is an excerpt from their book “Renovation of the Heart Daily Practice.”
We often say “Nobody’s perfect.” We don’t say this just when someone fails but also when we run up against the Bible’s description of the kingdom personality of “genuine mutual love” that is free of “all malice, and guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.” Perhaps we rush to say it because we feel inadequate compared to such love. But what if we don’t make that description about us—focusing on our shortcomings—but instead linger on the beauty of God and God’s kingdom…Try picturing this hypothetical moment of dwelling on the beauty of God and the kingdom of life: Let’s say I confessed to you my disgust with someone who annoyed me and how hopeless I felt about ever loving this person. What if instead of trying to make me feel better by saying, “Nobody’s perfect,” you said you believed in God’s power to transform me into a radical person who pays loving attention to those who annoy me? What if you prayed for me about this? What if later that day you encountered an annoying person and, without thinking, treated that person with kindness and attentiveness—partly because of the transforming effect of our conversation about the kingdom personality?…Thank God for the beauty of the kingdom life and for the possibility of the transformation of your soul.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. [Romans 12:2]
Pathways Press.com 