definitions

A person is not defined by one event in his life.

History tries to make it so; we have in our memories a large set of people (size of the set depending on how well you studied for your history tests) who are only known to us because of one important event that we remember. They become one-dimensional--we have built up an idea about their whole lives from one day or one week in their fifty or more years of existence. Bad people can do good things from time to time, and good people can do bad things, and if you isolate one happening you are unlikely to find anything accurate enough to be used to judge their character.

We've taught ourselves, then, that we can do that with people we are personally familiar with as well as historical figures. Admit it--in your mind you'll define your current boyfriend by how he asked you out and your ex by how he broke up with you. If I were to keep tabs on it long enough, you might one day start telling me what a jerk this newer one is too, regardless of how well last Valentine's day was planned. The teacher in the fourth grade who made me cry because she yelled at me in front of the class for not wearing a hat on Hat Day is always going to be the most horrible elementary educator on the planet, because I honestly don't remember anything else about her. You can have a best friend for years who misconstrues one remark you make and never speaks to you again. Fortunately, the day your mom forgot you at school in the sixth grade doesn't override the years of making you dinner and remembering to pick you up at 3:30.

God was able to look at David, the adulterous murder, and still say, "He is a man after my own heart." Abraham, who's lack of faith in God's promise caused him to have a child with his servant and create serious problems even today for the two races of people stemming from that incident, has five verses in Hebrews 11 memorializing his great faith in God.

God doesn't define me by the times I've screwed up, or even by the times I've done outstandingly well (just in case I try to think I can slack off because I've done enough). He defines me by my life as a whole and by my heart's desires and by who I really am.

How would God define you?