Letter from an Inmate 

In the church that I was raised in I was taught there were certain things that a Christian did and others that he didn't do.  Though it may not have been directly stated I was left with the impression that if I did not fully meet those standards then I was not a good Christian.  And if I was not a good Christian then how could I be pleasing to God.  So for several years my motivation to do the right thing was mostly to avoid the shame of not meeting my churches expectations.

Now there is evidence that we are Christians seen in our conduct.  And we should remember when Paul said that salvation is not an invitation to test the extent of God's grace.  Though I have learned through ISW that we will never find that end.  His grace extends far beyond what we will ever require.  But as we grow nearer to understanding the full debt we owed and the sacrifice necessary to pay it, we develop a heart of gratitude.  As a result our thankfulness is seen in our behavior which should be much different than it used to be. 

What I failed to understand all those years and what kept me in an exhaustive cycle of attempting to perform perfectly, falling short due to my flawed human nature, and becoming frustrated in realizing that as long as I'm in this body I will always fail, I would torment myself because I could not fulfill the Christian image that was presented to me through my church.  Many times I gave up entirely because I felt that it would be better not to try at all than to continue disappointing God.

I was never given a clear message of grace.  Not until ISW.  I certainly never saw my heavenly Father as  someone who was fully loving despite my short comings.  But I have learned that grace is not just the forgiveness of my past, but it is Jesus taking the place of my sins for all time.  So that when God looks on me now it is not a shamed, hopeless sinner He sees, but His perfect son that is in me.

There is a great amount of freedom in realizing that by the same measure that my works were never enough to earn salvation, neither will they ever be enough to keep it.  What was given was done so freely according to what I believed not what I did.  In knowing that my performance cannot alter the perfect love that God has for me I have overcome a great barrier that served as a foothold for Satan for many years. 

ISW has been a true blessing for me and something that I have been able to share with my family and others with great joy and confidence knowing that it will help them to find as well their worth in Christ.