“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.”
1 Timothy 1:15-16 NLT
http://bible.com/116/1ti.1.15-16.nlt
You have no idea how patient the Lord has been with me. I look back on my life and am in wonder over how dumb I’ve been. I remember my first experience as a youth leader at our church (many, many years ago). I can’t remember what scripture I was teaching. I do remember that one of the youth called me out on how I was using the scripture. In reality, he was right and I was wrong. You see, while I was one of our youth leaders on Sunday evenings, my life the other 6 days a week was far from God’s word. Most of my early life as a young married father was filled with profession of faith but far from faith in practice. My priorities were work, my employees, and socializing with them. I look back at that time with regret at how much time I lost with my kids, my wife, and most importantly, with the Lord.
Yes, God has been patient with me. He filled me with his spirit and finally I listened. He could have given up. He didn’t. He put people in my life to direct me closer to him. He sent people like that young man in our youth group, to call me out and help me realize how really weak my faith was. I praise him for his grace, mercy, and love for this sinner. I can never repay that patience. I can only serve him right here and right now. There’s no turning back. I can only push forward learning from all my failings in the past.
No comments:
Post a Comment