I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence.” vss. 12-13a
1 Timothy 1:12-14
Because the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) differ in both style and substance from other Pauline letters, some have presumed that they come from an anonymous hand later in the first century. While it’s impossible to prove this, it is true that these letters were considered as a part of Paul’s legacy. Perhaps we could say that they are more biographical than autobiographical. We do know that Paul was very grateful to Christ Jesus and that he was astounded to have been appointed as an apostle. As he says in other letters he was violently opposed to the presence and the work of the early followers of Jesus in Jerusalem. Paul’s story is a vivid reminder to us that the past does not define our future. Even if we have lived careless and profligate lives, repentance can and does happen. In fact, some of the most moving testimonies come from those whose transformation was undeniably miraculous. Such persons probably never forget the shame and embarrassment of their past lives, so they are undoubtedly as grateful as Paul for the new life that they have in Christ. As Amazing Grace puts it, “they once were lost, but now they have been found. Praise God!
Thought for the Day: A testimony about transformation that touched my heart!
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