From perdition to praise

 This week's verses are 1 Timothy 1:12-17:

I am grateful to the one who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful in putting me into ministry, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I was treated with mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief, and our Lord’s grace was abundant, bringing faith and love in Christ Jesus. This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them! But here is why I was treated with mercy: so that in me as the worst, Christ Jesus could demonstrate his utmost patience, as an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life. Now to the eternal king, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.

Paul here is praising God for his mercy. Paul's life is a demonstration of God's grace.  He was once a self-righteous genocidal terrorist, but now, when he writes this, he has not only been accepted by God, but even embraced as a trusted servant. It's a complete turnaround, and he had no role to play in this transformation.

When Paul was persecuting Christians, if you had looked at his record and the suffering he was responsible for, you would have probably said that the best course of action would have been to assassinate him. If he met with an unfortunate accident, people would have been overjoyed and relieved at the same time. He was doing evil in the disguise of righteousness. It is the worst kind of evil.

It would have made sense for God to get rid of him too. He was a blasphemer. And if that wasn't reason enough on its own, he was hurting those God loved. Paul had refused to follow the true path of righteousness and was killing those who genuinely tried to live righteously. He was worse than useless. He was an insult and an impediment to what God was trying to accomplish on earth.

And yet God did not kill Paul. Nor did the church refuse him when he repented of his madness. Nor did they even treat him with mistrust.  He was fully accepted and made a leader and source of authority. Never in a million years could someone have hoped for such a change in a life like his. But this is the grace of God.

Paul thanks God for giving him strength and for putting him to use despite everything.  God is glorified by making use of this broken and ugly thing to make his work of art. The focus is no longer on the trash, but on what the artist has managed to do with it. It is the artist who is celebrated, not the broken junk.

Our lives can be the same. If we look closely, perhaps they are already on their way to being so. We've not done everything perfectly. Sometimes we're already aware of serious mistakes or harm we have caused to others, or of serious character flaws that offend God. Other times, we have no idea, as Paul had no idea, while we continue to sin. But God's grace is the common refrain for all of this. The worst in our lives, when we make an effort to turn it over to him, can be redeemed into something wonderful. God can gain praise for the same things that would have got us eternal damnation if we'd held onto them.

 We continuously have the ability to turn these things over to God. We can toss them into the furnace and see them turned into the light of his glory. When we try to do things our way, in circumstances we shape for ourselves, by our own standards, we become wicked. When we are lucky enough to see our mistakes and failures, we should release them to God for redemption. We don't have to own our junk forever, and we don't need to follow a bad path just because we're already on it. God offers us freedom and a new life. That is Paul's testimony.

As Paul says, "to the eternal king, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever!" We have the ability to participate in that glory, thanks to Jesus who came to us to offer us a place at his side in eternity.