We Are Trophies of God's Grace

The Apostle Paul considered himself to be the chief of all sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) and yet God chose to glorify Himself through Paul.  We are also told in 1 Corinthians 1:27 that, "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."  God works through the imperfection of individuals to glorify His holy name and to make His name great amongst the nations.  He is not concerned about our previous status because He dresses every believer in the righteousness of Jesus Christ when they come to Him as Savior (Romans 13:14).  Regardless of our stained, sketchy, and shameful past God wants to shine through us as a testimony of transformation that He brings as it tells of His greatness.  It is best that we always understand that it is God's power that enables us to accomplish things for Him.

The apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 12:9-11, "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  There is no need to be ashamed of our past as Christ has given forgiveness!  He loves to heal and bring order to chaos.  He loves to work through our inadequacies! 

There is no doubt about it that we as believers were once children of disobedience, lovers of darkness, dead in our trespasses and sins, and following the prince of the power of the air--Satan!  Our lives were not only messed up, but hopeless without Christ.  I LOVE how Paul states it, "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

God desires to express His grace and kindness through our lives in order that the world may marvel at His goodness!  I marvel at the grace and kindness that He has displayed through me!  May we never get bogged down in our self-worth and fail to understand that God is working His kindness through us that He might be glorified--It happens because of what Christ did for us on Calvary.