Ewwww...I Think I See God In That MESS!

1 Timothy 1:16 "But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who believe on him & receive eternal life."

Usually when we hear a preacher man declare, "I'm the worst of sinners..." we roll our eyes & say, "WHAT? You only prayed 4 times today instead of 6?!? Oh puh-lease!" But for reals, Paul actually was way worse than I ever was, & probably most of you reading this.

Before his conversion, he was actually persecuting those who claimed to follow Jesus. I don't mean he was posting angry blogs either. He was using the Roman military, with full support of the Sandhedrin (Jewish ruling body) to round up, imprison, and even execute Christians (Acts 7, Galatians 1:13). In fact, Paul was responsible for the very first Christian martyr, Stephen (Acts 8:1). Back in those days, Paul actually thought he was doing God's work in accordance with Jewish law. Little did he realize that he was actually working against God's plan for the world.

If you have been trying to define the word "irony" lately, then look no further than to the story of Paul's conversion found in Acts 9. Jesus himself confronts Paul as he is on his way to Damascus, to of course, persecute more Christians. If there where angels standing nearby on that road during Jesus' confrontation, I bet they were avoiding eye contact whispering under their breath, "AWKWARD....!" The truth is revealed to Paul, and after several days of wrestling with this profound reality, that Jesus is the promised messiah, Paul becomes a Christian himself. And as we read later in Acts, the persecutor becomes the persecuted.

God chose Paul I think in part because He wanted to demonstrate the extent of His mercy & grace. The new Paul would send a message to the world and especially to other believers, "If I can not only forgive Paul, but also make him a an apostle, don't you think I can do the same for you?"

So many of us have parked our faith & are gazing at the scenery because we think we are disqualified from serving or leading. God is super patient. Remember Paul the next time you are beating yourself up because of that old sin. Think of God's unlimited grace, extended to a big pile of mess. Rejoice that your mess ain't near as big as his, so maybe God can catapult you to places even greater than the Apostle Paul!