Editorial December 25, 1995 Issue

An attainable perfection—a perfect heart

Barbara M. Vining

On American television, a recent episode of the show Touched by an angel portrayed a highly successful young reporter who was obsessed with an inordinate drive for personal perfection: No matter what she accomplished, it was never enough to win what she yearned for most—the approval and affection of her perfectionist mother. At a point of crisis in her life, when she sought her mother's advice and comfort and received only cold disapproval, an angel (played by a woman) assured her that God loved her despite her human imperfections. This assurance of God's unconditional love warmed her heart; it relieved her of her obsession with perfectionism. She found courage to face and resolve the crisis and to adopt a more balanced approach to her life, work, and relationships.

It's heartening to see a television show dealing with man's relation to God as an important factor in solving human predicaments. It gets people to thinking. In my case, I began to examine the whole question of why God loves us unconditionally. Is it because He overlooks our human imperfections?—in which case there would be little use in turning to Him for help in overcoming them. Or is it because in the eyes of an all-loving God we are actually His perfect spiritual image and likeness?—in which case we have real hope of gaining freedom from human imperfection through His love and guidance. Isn't it the latter?

God, who is perfect, could not make His creation imperfect. Perfect Mind could only have perfect conceptions, or ideas. This verse in the Bible is so encouraging: "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God" (I John 3:1). If God Himself calls us His sons and daughters (and He does), then we are perfect in His sight—that is, we are perfect in Him, in divine Mind. A favorite hymn says, "He holds us perfect in His love, / And we His image bear" (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 144).