Live Life With No Regrets!

A good many people have been bothered by... Our Lord's words, "Be ye perfect." Some people seem to think this means, "Unless you are perfect, I will not help you"; and as we cannot be perfect, then if He meant that, our position is hopeless. But I do not think He did mean that. I think He meant, "The only help I will give is help to become perfect. You may want something less: but I will give you nothing less...."

Now if I may put it that way, Our Lord is like the dentists. If you give Him an inch, He will take an ell. Dozens of people go to Him to be cured of some one particular sin which they are ashamed of (like masturbation or physical cowardice) or which is obviously spoiling daily life (like bad temper or drunkenness). Well, he will cure it all right; but He will not stop there. That may be all you ask; but if once you call Him in, He will give you the full treatment.

That is why He warned people to "count the cost" before becoming Christias. "Make no mistake," He says, "if you let Me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. Nothing less, or other, than that. You have free will, and if you choose, you can push Me away. But if you do not push Me away, understand that I am going to see this job through. Whatever suffering it may cost you in your earthly life, whatever inconceivable purification it may cost you after death, whatever it costs Me, I will never rest nor let you rest until you are literally perfect--until My Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you, as He said He was well pleased with Me. This I can do and will do. But I will not do anything less."

And yet--this is the other and equally important side of it--this Helper who will, in the long run, be satisfied with nothing less than absolute perfection will also be delighted with the first feeble, stumbling effort you make tomorrow to do the simplest duty. As a great Christian writer (George MacDonald) pointed out, every father is pleased at the baby's first attempt to walk: no father would be satisfied with anything less than a firm, free, manly walk in a grown-up son. In the same way, he said, "God is easy to please, but hard to satisfy."

(Mere Christianity Book IV, Ch. 9)