The Lord is my shepherd, I lack for nothing
Part 2: We reach out for what is out of reach. Report card: “Has got the basics, but needs to focus”
The bedrock foundation of the religious outlook is that, while we are far from perfect, we can still rest in the assurance of God’s love. This is an enormously powerful place to stand.
The religious desire to be perfect is very genuine. And let’s just clarify what we’re talking about when we speak of “perfection”. It is not a self-righteousness, or a sense of superiority. It’s not an insistence that we have scored 10/10 in every test, let alone boasting that we have done better than others in the tests of life. The desire for perfection arises from our adoration for God. Even our feeble appreciation of him and our transient encounters with him reveal a wondrous love and goodness that fills our souls to overflowing. Basking in the clarity of light that he imparts we are suddenly ashamed of everything that is unworthy of him and want only to honour him in everything that we think and say and do. That we have the ability to apprehend God is the glory of our human nature. This desire to honour him remains long after the experience of his presence has subsided, and then, of course, we discover that without the impulse of our direct encounter with him, we are unable to live up to our deepest desire to honour him. Yet still that desire remains, and it is this that we are talking about when we say that God calls us to be perfect.
So, here we are, with our desire to live in perfect love and goodness, and with our evolved instincts for self-preservation which entail a ruthless amorality. No wonder we have a divided mind – as Augustine agonised about so acutely. I think it does help us to understand that this is the position we find ourselves in – though this does not absolve us from the task of choosing perfect love and goodness rather than ruthless amorality. Let’s explore a bit more this place where God enables us to stand.
Spiritual Devotion 