By the time of 1Timothy, Paul is an older man and he has had time to think about his life and legacy. Paul has had time to mature. In this chapter he offers one of his ‘trustworthy sayings.’
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst (15).
I sat with those words before me. Could I, would I, admit the same?
One of the subtle sub-cultures of the present day church seems to be, how do I say it, a thinking of oneself as better or more deserving the longer people are part of the church. I am not sure my words are conveying what I am wrestling with.
It seems as Paul ages, he understands all the more how much a sinner he was and continues to be, and therefore how great God’s grace to him was and continues to be. Too often in the present day, the longer people are Christians, the more arrogant and self-righteous they seem; or at least that is often what non-believes seem to think and feel about us, as Christians.
This apparently is not Paul’s case. The older and wiser he grows, the more he understands that Jesus came for sinners… peoples whose values and lifestyles and words and behaviors are anything but what God desires. It is only after grace grips their lives that change happens.
By remembering who he was before God grabbed him, Paul is able to reach out to others in the same or similar situations without judgment and invite them to Jesus, who then begins to clean up their lives. No wonder it is called Good News!
Lord, fill my mouth and my actions and my demeanor with GRACE, loads and loads of grace, so that when people disconnected from You see me, they feel that You will welcome them even as You welcomed me years ago. Please Lord, help me to show Your love, the love Jesus seemed to display as He regularly dined with sinners, and drew them closer and closer to You. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment