Claim.

There is no getting around the contradiction. It may be THE reason that the world has a problem with Christians. We lay claim to a perfection that is not our own. At times we handle it poorly: we judge, we condemn, we fail to Love. Frequently, we make the suggestion that we have earned this perfection. But nothing is more repulsive than when someone is vehemently laying claim to something they did not do.

We may lay a legitimate claim to Christ’s perfection for only one reason: God wants it that way. In fact that is the only way it can happen. It is the only way he can be with us and us with him. We are that bad and he is that good. We are that loved and he is that loving. That is what should change our lives. That is what should make Christians the most beautifully humble and loving creatures in creation. When we get it right, or when humans in general get it right, it is breathtaking.

We claim perfection, not in spite of, but because of our imperfection. It is the very nature of Salvation that we are rescued from something that we would otherwise have no escape.