Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst.
(1 Timothy 1:15 (NIV))
Do you think of Paul as a sinner?
Think about that for a moment. The man whom Jesus appeared to on the road to Damascus considered himself to be a sinner. The man whom we, as Gentiles, owe an incredible debt to for bringing the Gospel to us considered himself to be a sinner. The man who planted numerous churches throughout the known world of his day considered himself to be the worst sinner of all.
How do you see yourself? Do you consider yourself to be a sinner or do you have a holier than thou attitude?
We think that we are pretty good. It is human nature to look at others and point out their sins while we fail to recognize our own. Jesus even taught about this very aspect of human nature.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
(Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV))
Before his Damascus Road experience, Saul may have been a major sinner and persecutor of the church, but he had an experience that changed his life. Saul met Jesus. Saul became Paul. Unlike many people today, Paul did not forget what he had been. He did not forget the sins that he had committed. He never lost site of the fact that if it weren’t for his encounter with Jesus, he would still be lost in his sin. He never lost site of the fact that Jesus didn’t make him perfect and that his own human nature would take him right back to where he had been. Paul did not go around with an arrogance and an attitude of being perfect. He knew that he was far from perfect. He knew that it was nothing of his own doing, but it was by grace that he had been redeemed. Why do many members of the Body of Christ fail to recognize this in themselves? Why do we drive so many people away with our attitudes?
Do you call yourself a sinner?
Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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