1 Timothy 1:12-17 (NRSV)
Read 1 Timothy 1:12-17 on biblegateway.com
Verse 12I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, Verse 13even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, Verse 14and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Verse 15The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the foremost. Verse 16But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. Verse 17To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Devotion
Throughout the scripture, we are told stories of a God who chose unlikely people to lead and/or speak God’s word. From Jacob, the schemer, to Moses, the stammerer, to David, the least among his brothers, to Amos, a herdsman and dresser of sycamore trees, to the fishermen along the Sea of Galilee, to Paul, persecutor of Christians. If there was to be anyone who should be written off, rejected by God, it was Paul. He was an opponent of Christians, one wreaking violence on them, but this is the one that God called to be one of the foremost deliverers of the Good News of Jesus Christ. In those moments when we are tempted to believe that we have nothing to offer in the service of God, we ought to remember Paul. Paul was an enemy of Christ who became a messenger. God can surely work through you, through me, through us.
Prayer
Dear God, you regularly choose unexpected people to lead and/or speak your word. Take whatever I might have to offer to serve you to the praise of your glory, sustaining me in my serving. Amen.
Interested in digging deeper into today’s text?
Read more here.