"This is the Step that separates the women from the girls." . . . the difference between "the girls and the women" is the difference between striving for a self-determined objective and for the perfect objective which is of God. . . . It is suggested that we ought to become entirely willing to aim toward perfection. . . . The moment we say,"No, never!" our minds close against the grace of God. . . . This is the exact point at which we abandon limited objectives, and move toward God's will for us.
- TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 63, 68, 69
Am I entirely ready to have God remove these defects of character? Do I know at long last that that I cannot save myself? I have come to believe that I cannot. If I am unable, if my best intentions go wrong, if my desires are selfishly motivated and if my knowledge and will are limited - then I am ready to embrace God's will for my life.
Posts
Posting these Daily Reflections is turning out to be an exercise in working through the Steps. This reading gives me a "checklist" for the Sixth Step. This is what I find:
ReplyDeleteExamine my 4th and 5th Step.
Have I omitted anything?
Have any of my motives been selfish?
Have I looked only for my part, if any, in my resentments or troubles?
Have I read the 1rst though 6th Steps in the Big Book & Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions?
Do I believe that I cannot save myself?