The Apostle Paul. A terrorist. A murderer. A man who spewed hate from his mouth and dealt it out accordingly with his hands.
Christ chose him.
Christ chose him and forgave him.
Christ chose him, forgave him and used him.
Who do I discredit because of their past or present? How dare I do so when my own past is less than pleasant?
I am seeing that even in my smallest moments of second-lasting pride when I say: "I would do it differently," or in my biggest, prideful disobedience of "I'll NEVER forgive or stop hating her," I am saying the same thing: "God will never love you as much as me. His grace doesn't extend to you as much as it does to me."
I am playing judge and I am in the wrong.
Because Christ gives us all a Damascus road and meets us even when we are "still breathing threats and murder" (Acts 9:9). Not when we are better or more healed. Not when we are more accepted by others. Not when we are clean. Because none of us are clean.
But we all have a Savior who died to clean us.
ALL OF US.
All.
The ones we love and the ones that hurt us deeply. The ones we believe worthy and the ones we snarl at the thought of. Christ died for all of them.
And thank goodness. Because we haven't always been the ones that people love and we have never been worthy. We have all been looked at with a snarled and believed unworthy by some. If judged by others opinions we would all be on a fiery journey to Hell.
Thank goodness He chooses us all.
Thank goodness He chooses us and forgives us all.
And thank goodness, if we allow it, He chooses us, forgives us, and uses us all.
