| “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.” |
| —1 Timothy 1:12 |
In the course of your life, have you ever encountered someone who listened to what you had to say about the Lord Jesus Christ and what He means to you, but responded by saying:
“I’ve done too many bad things in my life. I’ve made too many mistakes. God could never love me.”
Such a one misses the point entirely. God does not call to Himself people that He deems are perfect or good. To the contrary, God calls those to belong to Himself who often need Him the most. We are, after all, every one of us, sinners. We inherited the sin stain of Adam. And, we continued a pattern of sin from the earliest days of our lives. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to learn of the love God has shown us, we come to Him as sinners. And, we remain sinners as long as we live on this earth—sinners who have been saved by God’s mercy, grace, and love. Even the Apostle Paul—or perhaps I should say, particularly the Apostle Paul—claimed that he was the worst of sinners. Notice how Paul explains this in his letter to Timothy, found in 1 Timothy 1:12-16:
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.
Whenever God prompts us to share what He has done for us, we must remember that the one to whom we are talking may feel that he or she is unworthy of God’s love. In that gentle, humble, and tender way, as God enables us by the Holy Spirit, be quick to remind that one that God saves sinners. And, sinners are the only ones who can come to God because they know how much they need Him.
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, May 29, 2018
