Here's looking at you...

I read this today in Oswald Chamber's "Moral Foundations of Life" p. 90 - "Never look for other people to be holy; it is a cruel thing to do, it distorts your view of yourself and of others. Could anyone have had a sterner view of sin than Jesus had, and yet had anyone a more loving, tender patience with the worst of men than He had? The difference in the attitude is that Jesus Christ never expected men to be holy: He knew they could not be: He came to make men holy. All He asks of men is that they acknowledge they are not right, then He will do the rest --- "Blessed are the poor in spirit". How you view people does color how you act toward them and react to them. It affects the hope you have for yourself and for others as to a fullness of life, and possibly to change for the better. It is encouraging to me that He is hopeful for the best in me. It's because He is able to cause what He hopes for in me, and you.