I remember my little daughter once deciding to buy me an ice-cream with her own money. But on the way back from the Mr Whippy van the ice cream started to melt. So she began to lick the sides of the cone. After that the temptation was just too great and what I finally received was little more than a soggy cone. But I still look back on that with great pleasure. As her father, I was very conscious of her weakness for ice cream. But I knew her intentions were real and I accepted them, even though her ability to deliver might not always match them.
I think God is like that with us. Jesus didn’t say: “blessed are those who are righteous,” because none of us are. But he did say: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Thomas a Kempis said: ‘Man sees the deed, but God sees the intention.’ When we turn to him, God sees what we honestly want to be and accepts us even though our performance is lacking.