1 Timothy 1:15-16 New Living Translation
“This
is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: ‘Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners’—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on
me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience
with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can
believe in him and receive eternal life.”
The Apostle Paul wasn’t always a
godly man. He oversaw the murder of
Christians. God exhibited much patience
with Paul until when the time was right the Lord revealed himself to him on the
road to Damascus. Paul’s conversion was
dramatic to say the least, what with being blinded by a bright light and
knocked off his horse. He had been such
a terror to believers prior to salvation that some of the brethren initially
had difficulty accepting that he had become a follower of Christ. Thru the prompting of the Holy Spirit Paul
was embraced and went on to become the Apostle to the Gentiles, those grafted
into the family of God due to Jewish rejection of Jesus as their Messiah.
Paul’s conversion is a prime example
of one you would least expect to become saved.
Perhaps it has something to do with our inability to forgive some folks
that leads us to believe that some people will either never believe as we do or
do not deserve to be redeemed. That type
of thinking is wrong on both counts.
Since we are not the judge who makes the final determination as to the
eternal destination of anyone, we have no say in who goes to heaven or
hell. Many of us have the unsavory habit
of judging others merely by their physical appearance. I struggle with that
quite a bit. If God judged us the way we
judge others none of us would enter into heaven.
This portion of scripture should be
an encouragement to believers regarding those we know who have up to this point
have rebuffed our witness. No one is
beyond the reach of God. There is no one
God wishes to burn in hell. We are his
representatives on this earth. Are we
judging when we should be ministering in mercy and love? Be God’s hand extended and not one that
drives people away from salvation. Ask
the Lord to enable you to see others, whether lost or the brethren, the way he sees them. That would be a major step in the right
direction. Until next time, walk with
the King and be a blessing!
Resource:
The Life Application Study Bible, published by Tyndale House.
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