Is there such a thing as a positive rejection?

I haven't submitted much fiction to literary journals. Mainly I've focused on trying to revise the novel. (I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but Nate and another friend are currently reading the first half to give me feedback. Soon I'll be giving them the second half. So far they've given me some really good suggestions.)

A couple of chapters in the novel seem to stand alone pretty well. However, they are chapters, not short stories, so there's a definite sense of ... well, what happens next? Which is naturally answered later in the novel.

This is a challenge when you're submitting to a publication that publishes short stories, which don't necessarily need to be tightly wrapped up at the end, but do, I think, need to have a sense of wholeness or completion in and of themselves.

Knowing this, I've submitted a chapter called "Pecado Mortal" to three publications. "Mortal" can mean mortal as in deadly or mortal as in Catholic and "pecado" is "sin," which is a play on words with what happens in this little old chapter.

I got form rejections from the two bigger pubs I submitted to, and I gave the chapter another look-see during my overall novel revisions. This is the rejection note I got from the third submission (names have been removed because I don't think that's important):

Dear Yvonne (if I may),

Many thanks for sending us “Pecado Mortal.” This is better than 90% of the work we see--clear, strong writing, vivid characters, nice pacing. And plenty of life experience here; you’ve got something to say, which also sets you apart from most. Ultimately, I felt the story just wasn’t strong enough for us (competition is fierce, so please don’t be discouraged), but it seems to me you’re on the right path. Good luck with this story elsewhere, and keep writing.

Best regards,
Editor

So, here's my question. Do you think there's such a thing as a good rejection? Just curious.