Being Perfectly Loved

Just look at these 64 radiant women, all aglow with God's PERFECT love shining through, after the most amazing 4 days of enrichment and basking in such epic and special times together. Sincerely, those 4 days were life-changing in so many ways. Our love for God, and His love for us, went to a another level as we praised and worshipped Him together.

One of the highlights of the retreat was hearing Msgr Dan Mueggenborg speak these words of Jesus "Be perfect as your Heavenly Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48) Then he said, "There you go, someone else is expecting you to be perfect. Your parents, your husband, your children, your boss -- all expect you to be perfect, and if that isn't enough....NOW GOD!" To that, the chapel was filled with women bursting into laughter. He went on to describe how the world portrays beauty and perfectionism by the way we should look -- all polished, manicured, slim and trim, dressed to the T and carrying ourselves fully together and PERFECT.

But the fact is -- we are all less-than-perfect. Does God really expect us to be perfect as He is perfect? How is that possible? The God Who IS Love made us in His image. We were made to love as He loves. Colossians 2:10 says "And you are complete in Him (Christ)....." By that one word "complete", we're shown that we have in Christ whatever is required of us. 1 John 4:16 says "God is love and he who abides in love, abides in God, and God abides him." We'll never, on our own, be perfect on this side of heaven, but as we live in Him, the PERFECT ONE, we have the ability to love as He loved. Perfection becomes an ongoing goal -- day-by-day, year-by-year. Not in the world's sense, but on our own journey to become perfected in love (God is love) and to grow in becoming more like Him -- the PERFECT ONE.

"Make me more like You, Jesus. Make me more like You. Give me a heart that's filled with love, and make me more like You."

Have You Noticed How Opposites Attract?

Day 132 of Photo Inspirations -- Have you noticed how opposites attract?
You might think "How did THEY ever get together?"  I know that's the way it was for my husband and I.  He had a serious, intuitive, methodical, perfectionist, deep-thinker personality.  I, on the far end of the spectrum (as far as the East is from the West), was/am a lighthearted, saguine, fun-loving, upbeat, go-with-the-flow personality.  It worked well for us.  We completed each other.  We made each other better because of what one of us lacked, the other had.  But, it didn't come without years of maturing and adapting.

I started thinking about our relationship with God -- how very opposite we are.
He is perfect.  We are not.
His ways and His thoughts are so much higher than our ways and our thoughts.
He loves unconditionally.  We do not.
He forgives and forgets.  We try to forgive, and seldom forget.
He gives without expectation of return.  We give expecting to receive.

But, here's the really good news.  He is attracted to us, and we are attracted to Him.  Everything that He is, and we're not, is okay -- He knew that, so His perfect plan of giving us His best, His one and only Son, bonded us together in perfect completion.  Yes, "In Him you have been made complete......" Colossians 2:10  And, everyday as we spend time with Him, we'll find ourselves taking on more and more of His characteristics and His beauty, and before long, we start to think as He thinks, forgiving and forgetting like He forgives and forgets, and gives and loves unconditionally.

Oh, how much we want to be like Him, but it's a long, slow process of growth. Like in our marriages, maturing in Him, is a gradual, progressive development that will take the rest of our lives.  St. Paul said, "This will continue until we are . . . mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him." (Ephesians 4:13).  We are a work in progress, but the longer we are in relationship with Him......the more we will be complete in Him.  And, in this case -- OPPOSITES DO ATTRACT!
#OppositesAttract #PerfectGod