When have I experienced Christian Perfection? 

I was asked this question of the confirmation class. I told them not to be worried if they haven’t experienced it at all. I am 51 and have only experienced it three times: once when I was called, once at ordination, once my second year at PTCUMC.

In each of those instances I felt the overwhelming power of the Holy Spirit in ways I have trouble describing. In each case, tears of a spiritual nature were involved. In each case the feeling “lasted” for several days.

That’s the truth about those experiences. But regretfully I unknowingly lied to the confirmation class. It hasn’t happened 3 times. It’s happened more than that.

When I started thinking about it, I could recall other times.

Once was when I was three. I have a vague memory of being in a church and seeing a picture of Jesus. No tears. But the visual memory is so strong that it would be difficult for a three year old to manifest and sustain.

Another was when I was in high school. I was going through a dark time. Lynn Craig (one of our choral directors) spoke words of life over me. The Christian Perfection was in her at that time. She passed it onto me. Perhaps without knowing. Years later when I reconnected with her, I thanked her from the bottom of my heart. Tears were there both times. God sanctified a moment that could’ve led away from life. I’m eternally grateful.

I experienced it at Cornerstone when Brandon Steiper, a teenager, told me he wanted to start a non-profit to help the kids at Eastgate.

And I recently experienced it in December after a phone call that changed my life. I spent the next hour soaking in the love of Christ.

These moments don’t seem to happen everyday, but if we pay attention we will see them with more frequency. God is surrounding us. Yearning for us to be in communion with Him. And when we do, it is a magical, miraculous, and holy moment.

Start looking for them. And your life will change. You’ll be made perfect in the love of Christ.

Dr. K

Hebrews 5:8-9 NRSVUE

Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered,  and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,