Refinement is rightly an inside-out process.

It is the process by which the light inside of you shines outwardly into the world. It is the revelation of the wonderful One within you. Refinement is the means by which the “heaven” of your being is revealed through the “earth” of your outer capacities of body, mind and heart.

Refinement made and makes the statement: “I and my Father are one” possible for every human being who has ever alighted upon this magnificent spinning globe.

The world might tell you that you need certain manners and mannerisms, a particular mode of speaking, and the “correct” physical presentation (e.g. grooming, clothing, etc.) to be called refined, but refinement takes on many colors, shapes, and sizes. True refinement is takes form according to the inner pattern of being present in the individual.

As such, refinement is not so much about polishing, training, or striving to be better according to the world’s dictates and preferences, rather, it is about letting or yielding your outer capacities of body, mind, and heart to the fountain of perfection within you. It is about giving yourself continually to the highest and finest expression within you as you interface with the world around you.

This is the secret behind the injunction: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” It also explains the corollary: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”  

The creative commands “Be” and “Let” do not imply struggle or even effort. They imply letting, allowing, not trying or forcing. Perfection, in this sense, is entirely within reach or as it was put, “at hand.”

The commandment: “Be ye therefore perfect” was not some cruel admonition uttered by a merciless, sarcastic, or sadistic God. It was a simple request designed to show the ease by which it might be revealed. It was spoken by a man, on earth, who had demonstrated repeatedly how the process worked.

Well-meaning people since that time have sought to downplay this central message of Jesus’ brief yet profound ministry. They have sought to soften the blow of this particularly hard saying, explaining that, “Well, He didn’t really mean perfect…” They have justified this stance by saying “He was God incarnate, but lowly, mortal man could not possibly attain this state while living on earth.”

I mean, you’re only human, right?

Wrong!

You are a human being, a being with a human form, just as He was. Never forget that.

Stop excusing yourself from obeying this basic injunction. Stop obsessing with the world around you and trying to fit in. Even in your biggest dreams, the role the world would have you play could not possibly contain even a fraction of what you are here to reveal to the world.

Perfection is impossible without a recognition of the inner factors. No man or woman can perfect him or herself by assembling a flawless body, mind, heart independent of the rest of creation, especially without regard to the wonderful One within him or herself. This why the so-called “perfectionist” is destined to fail.

Perfection is revealed, not constructed.

So, let it be.

Photo by Jonathan Hoxmark on Unsplash.