His Excellence

The first morning look in the mirror is not … excellent.  The second or third look … maybe, a bit closer.  We keep going back for that look of … excellence.  Then, sometimes we just have to settle for … well, close.  I’ve learned to be happy with that!

Have we forgotten God created us for excellence?  Of course He did; His Word says we were created in His Image – what more “excellent” image could there be!  In the Book of Ruth, Boaz said this about Ruth: “And now my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence.”  Wow!  What a dream guy – that Boaz!  Do you wonder, however, what made Boaz think and say such a thing about Ruth? Perhaps it was how Ruth tended particularly to her inner qualities like Proverbs 4:23 commands, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.”  In graduation ceremonies all around the world, students have been or are being recognized for academic achievements. What if we were as diligent in pursuit of spiritual excellence as we are academic? In her book, “Becoming a Woman of Excellence,” Cynthia Heald asks: “What would a woman of excellence do?” When confronted with decisions and choices, how does a person of excellence  respond?  We respond very differently than the world … in “a more excellent way.” (1 Corinthians 12:31b)  Let us never settle for “close to excellence.” Let us always keep looking, keep reaching for … His Excellence.