As we develop spiritually and receive God's grace, our enthusiasm and love for Christ become stronger and more passionate. This growing passion motivates us to pursue holiness—not by relying solely on our own effort or determination, but through God's grace and His love working within us. It is in this close, loving relationship with God that genuine holiness is developed; it is not achieved simply by outward actions or human willpower. The desire for holiness and the longing for pure, holy affections become especially intense in those who are spiritually mature. Just as a healthy newborn instinctively longs for its mother's milk, believers who are truly alive spiritually crave growth in righteousness. As the Apostle Peter encourages, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” What we experience in this life is only a small taste—a preview—of the glorious inheritance that awaits us. It is like a deposit or earnest that stirs within us a deep longing for the fullness of what is to come. Would you like me to adjust the tone further or focus on specific themes? A perfectionist, however, often fails to understand that real change begins from within—God is the one who changes the heart first, and then outward actions follow. Some believe they can will themselves into holiness without truly desiring it, but they overlook the vital role of grace. Only God's grace has the power to transform our hearts and renew our desires. It is entirely God's work to change us from the inside out; any genuine inward transformation is a result of His grace. But everything changes when God grants us salvation. Our desires are transformed; now, we love God because He has regenerated us through His Holy Spirit. We become new creations, and as a result, our longing to see God's glory increases, driving us to seek more of Him. The longer we walk in His grace, the more we understand His will, and the deeper our love for Him becomes. At the same time, we grow to detest sin—mourning over its displeasure to God—and this hatred for sin deepens as our love for Him grows stronger. Additionally, John Edwards reminds us that before we are saved, we sin because we are sinners by nature—our love for sin exceeds our love for God. We choose sin because it brings us pleasure, and our affection for that pleasure only increases as we indulge it. In our spiritual blindness, we convinced ourselves that we were doing more good than harm, rationalizing our sins as necessary for our happiness. Sin became a habitual part of our lives, a natural expression of our fallen human nature. When we were initially overwhelmed by sin, our desires were entirely focused on gratifying ourselves. Before experiencing salvation, our choices were driven by concerns about our reputation or how we felt—self-centered pursuits that prioritized our comfort and appearance. We thought that virtue was simply a matter of rational decision-making, believing that with enough determination, we could will ourselves into obedience. We set up standards of righteousness that we thought we could justify logically, trusting in our own strength to do what was right.