The goodness, truth and love of the Christian life. Part 1

The goodness, truth, and love of the Christian life

Part 1

(An article in 4 parts this week exploring the Christian life. Alongside each part is a poem reflecting on some key aspects)

Christian faith draws a life of goodness, truth and love within our reach. A life containing nothing tawdry, selfish, substandard or unworthy. As God himself is perfect, faith in him makes his own quality of life available to those who love him. And the greatest aspect of this grace is that ordinary people believe such a life is possible; they recognise that it is open to them; and they enter into it.

Imagine a life with no shame, no regrets, no failures, only living in harmony with, in communion with, the God of love, where all our actions reflect his love. When we are in tune with God, aware of his presence, such a life becomes, not simply gloriously possible, but almost easy – for it is God’s gift, and those in love with God simply gladly accept the gifts of his love.

The challenge for the Christian is to continue in this life in those moments when we are not spiritually uplifted to be aware of God’s presence. The Christian is given a taste of perfection – but he is far from perfect, and the perfection he enjoyed was a gift, not earned. He recognises that he has no strength in himself sufficient to withstand the temptations that will come to him. He knows that God can continually give him the strength to stay in communion with him, but the human will falters at the effort of such perseverance as is needed to continually say, “Yes Lord; give me more”.

Thus, the Christian wants to be perfect; he knows that perfection is possible – through God’s inexhaustible gifts of grace, but he is not perfect in himself and does not achieve perfection because of his inherent weaknesses, summed up in his turning away from God. He thereby becomes susceptible to the attractions of those things that appear good, true and lovely, but which are less than the complete goodness, truth and love found in God. Or he simply falls into the temptations of selfishness.