It turns out, actually, that—get this—Jesus is looking specifically for the people who can’t get their act together. I know, right? I swear I am not making this up! Paul’s sense of hopeless exasperation reaches a crescendo in verse 24: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” He feels caught, trapped, like the corpse of his old life is still hanging on to his ankle and he can’t move on. He’s tried pulling himself up by his bootstraps but he got them tangled around his neck and now he’s choking to death. This is exactly the kind of self-despair Jesus is listening
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