The Perfect Christian

Growing up, I met or observed various Christians or ones who said they were Christians and what I saw, even as a kid, didn't impress me. I don't know what in my youth or even young adulthood I was looking for, but it wasn't people who seemed to look down on others for any number of reasons. The Perfect Christian was nowhere to be found, in my eyes, yet many seemed to see me as much less than perfect. 

I didn't grow up in a Christian home, so many of the things that longtime Christians took for granted i.e. Christian vocabulary, traditions, and Sunday School songs, were foreign to me. I was invited to church by elementary and high school friends, even a boyfriend in college, but it was a lot...music blaring, hands raised, even some dancing in the aisles and laying on of hands. I was confused and uncomfortable. 

Then, at 25 years old, God caught up to me and showed me that what I was looking for in life, wasn't working out and wasn't His best, or even second best, for me. Settling had become my go-to reality. Then, I met The Perfect Christian, for me. She was a coworker, who was older, quieter than my other coworkers, and she had a good work ethic. She modeled Christian kindness and patience and invited me to go to church with her and eventually invited me to rent a room in her home as I was running out of money and options. 

This coworker led me to the Lord in her living room kneeling beside her couch. I found out later, after living with her and her daughter for a while, she was not a perfect Christian. But she was who I needed at the time. God puts people in our lives for a season, some seasons last longer than others, some seasons are much too short. But all seasons are times of growth/sanctification, where we learn through prayer, Bible reading, community with other believers, and study/mediation on the Word of God to become more like Jesus. That I have learned is the ultimate goal for a Christian, not to become The Perfect Christian, but to become more like Jesus Christ. He is the only Perfect Christian. 

Once I asked God to forgive me of all my sins, the stuff that didn't help me or others, and make me a new creation in Him, my life started to change almost overnight.  I submitted to Jesus as my Savior and Lord. I accepted the consequences of the sins in my life that, although forgiven, left long lasting hurt, pain, and problems for me as well as others. (Sin is a shared practice, it rarely impacts only the sinner.) After many years now of walking the Christian walk, I am still far from perfect, but Thank God, I am perfectly saved!  

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.