Public Sinner Number One

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
1 Timothy 1 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:15-17, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
The Lone Ranger was one of my childhood heroes. My mother tells me that I would dress up in my Lone Ranger gear and ride my stick horse around the living room while watching old reruns of the masked hero. I loved the way he would jump on his trusted steed and shout, "Hi-yo, Silver! Away!" before riding away to the thrilling sounds of the William Tell Overture.

I recently read an interesting tidbit about the Lone Ranger's famous horse, Silver. Before becoming the hero's most faithful companion, Silver was an unbroken and untamed wild stallion. The Lone Ranger rescued the horse from a rampaging buffalo and aimed to make him his own. But Tonto cautioned against such an endeavor. He thought that it was impossible to train such an animal. He said they are too wild and willful. He urged the Lone Ranger to find an easier animal. But the Lone Ranger would not be put off. He deemed that the horse was for him. And so, by some secret and mysterious means, he called the animal to be his. And the horse responded and gave him a lifetime of service.

By taking the untamably wild horse and making it into his servant, and even his friend, the Lone Ranger demonstrated to all his viewers that he would be able to conquer all other obstacles in his path. He already solved the hardest case. All others will be easy, by comparison.

I use this as an illustration, for it is precisely the point the Apostle Paul is making when he talks of what God had done in his own life. God has taken the wildest, most violent of blaspheming persecutors, and has transformed him into not only a believer but into a trusted apostle and evangelist. If God can do that, there is nobody out there—no heart so hard, no anger so bitter—that it remains outside the reach of God's patient mercy.

In his former life, Paul had been the worst of sinners—he refers to himself as "Public Sinner Number One." At the time, Paul thought that he was doing God's will by defending Israel against the heretical teachings of Jesus (Acts 7:54-8:3; 9:1-2). But now he realizes that his angry, slanderous accusations against the early Christians had been a form of blasphemy. Now he realizes that his hate-filled actions were just like the persecutions that the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Romans had inflicted upon God's people in times past. This is the sort of man he had been. The early Christians, doing their best to hide from his violent attacks, would surely have regarded him as waaaayyyy beyond the scope of God's mercy.

But nobody is beyond that loving reach.

The Bible is full of stories that testify to God's radical, life-changing grace. Page after page reveal stories of God touching the vilest of sinners and making something new of them. Off the top of my head, here's just a few of God's redemption stories:

• Adam disobeyed God and brought a curse upon the world, yet God lovingly forgave him and promised to set things straight (Genesis 3:1-24).
• Jacob was a deceiver and a cheat (Genesis 25:29-34), yet God changed him and used him as one of the founding fathers of Israel (Genesis 35:11-12).
• Moses was a murderer (Exodus 2:11-12), yet God used him to deliver Israel from Egypt and to lead his people to the Promised Land.
• Rahab was a prostitute (Joshua 6:22-25), yet she possessed true faith (James 2:25) and became an ancestor of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).
• David was an adulterer and a murderer (2 Samuel 11:1-25), yet God graciously forgave him and made him Israel’s greatest king.
• Zachaeus was a deceiver and a thief, yet Jesus lovingly changed him and used him as a living picture of God's grace (Luke 19:1-10).
• The Samaritan woman was an adulteress, yet Jesus changed her and used her as a witness to others (John 4:1-39).
• Peter denied Christ (Matthew 26:69-75), yet Jesus forgave him and used him as a leader of the church (John 21:15-17).

It doesn't matter how bad you've been. It doesn't matter how many foolish decisions you've made. It doesn't matter how many people you've hurt. It doesn't matter what you've done in your past. God is able to take your past—no matter how twisted, warped, or broken—and remake it into something beautiful and good and full of hope.

God loves to demonstrate the depths of his patience and mercy (verse 16). So he delighted to redeem Paul and to use him as a sort of symbol, a living picture of the way in which he reveals his transforming love to the most unlikely people.

After experiencing the life-transforming grace of God, Paul became one of the greatest champions of the gospel. He carried the message of God's light to the ends of the known world. In verse 12, he testifies to feeling new strength bubbling up inside of him for difficult tasks, and he knows this inner strength comes from King Jesus himself. What's more, he knows that this is a sign that God is considering him trustworthy. He knows that God will continue to entrust him with the important task of declaring the gospel of Jesus—both with his life and his words.

As Paul reflects upon who he had been, as he ponders the miracle of who he has become, he spontaneously bursts into a song of praise to the one true God. And rightly so. The rescuing God who is able to change all darkness into light is worthy to be lifted high. 

"To the mighty King eternal, to the One who reigns over all things great and small, to the one true God who is able to do all things, be honor and glory and praise and adoration now and forevermore."


WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom, and my mom says that I was the cutest of kids. My closet was loaded with costumes of all kinds. I didn't watch a whole lot of TV, but any time one of my favorite shows was on, I'd change into my corresponding costume and sit glued to the screen. Can you guess which show I was watching in this photo?