What do You Mean I'm Perfect?

It's hard enough when you're "doing well" to believe that you are Perfect in Christ, but imagine wrestling with that concept wearing a bright orange jumper, behind bars.

"Perfect?" they ask me. "What do you mean I'm perfect?" "You don't know what I've done."

No, I don't know what you've done, but I know what I've done, and God knows what I have done. He has seen every ugly thing. He has heard every damning word out of my mouth and floating around in my mind. And yet, He says I am perfect.

"How can we be perfect and still sin?"

I let the question linger in the air. "It can't be."
"But it is"
"Then Christ must have bad thoughts -- "
"No, that's not possible"

"So we must have...like two minds...living in the same body?
"Exactly."

We are Perfect in God's eyes as He looks at us as One with Him, through the blood of His Son who redeemed us through His sacrifice.

We are also flesh. Carnal. Wilted. At risk. Borderline. Unhealthy. Criminal. Selfish. Weak.

Which one do we strengthen? Which one do we feed?

"I'm afraid to leave here, " says one woman. " How will I have the strength I need on the outside?"

"We have only a few choices in here, " says another..."Do you eat the food or not? We don't have to decide if we go to the store, or take out, or cook what we've got, or warm leftovers. We don't have those choices in here. Choices is what makes things so difficult."

God's wisdom is pouring out of them.

"Habits. Choices. This is the background upon which our sanctification plays out," I tell them.

It's time to go. The guard turns the key in the door. We'll have to wait for next week to have the chance to talk this out again.