“Now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” – John Steinbeck, East of Eden
East of Eden by John Steinbeck is one of my favorite books. It’s long, but there were moments in the story that I was moved to tears. It’s a Cain & Abel story, and salvation is at the heart of it.
In one conversation, one of the characters is having a significant realization and they hear these words: “Now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.”
I don’t know Steinbeck’s relationship to Christianity or the Gospel, but this single sentence encompasses the whole thing for me.
This is the crux of what happens for us when we experience the grace of Jesus Christ.
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