God’s idea of goodness

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. (Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT)

 God’s idea of goodness is often quite different from ours.
 King David plotted the death of another man so he could have his wife. But David knew he was a sinner whose only hope was the love, mercy, and forgiveness of God, and because he repented greatly and loved God all the more after what he had gone through, God called David a man after His own heart.
 God took the apostle Paul, a fanatical persecutor of the early Christians, and made him one of the greatest Christians of all time. Jesus took a demon-possessed harlot, Mary Magdalene, and made her one of His favourite followers.
 God’s idea of goodness is not sinless perfection. It’s a sinner who knows he has no righteousness of his own but depends totally on the goodness of God.
 These are the only saints there are; there are no others! —DBB [1]

 It is a grand mistake to think of being great without goodness and I pronounce it as certain that there was never a truly great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous. —Benjamin Franklin

[1] Activated Vol 14 Issue 7