Have you been at the front of the pack? Have you been leading the way? Were you headed in the right direction? Or were you on a path of destruction? How have you changed? Do you attribute your change to God’s patience, mercy, and grace?
Leading the pack is good, if we are on God’s path. The Apostle Paul was not on the path God wanted him on early in his life. Paul was a Pharisee. He was persecuting the church. He stood by while Stephen was being stoned. Paul thought he was doing right, but Jesus opened his eyes.
After Paul had his encounter with the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus and spent three years wondering and being taught by Jesus, he knew he had been wrong. We know Paul had authority to arrest those who were following Jesus when he was intercepted. We are not told how many he may have arrested before his encounter with Jesus. Paul considered himself the foremost among sinners because of his actions against Christians.
We may not be seeking the arrest of fellow Christians, but we may not be fully on the right path either. We must evaluate our motives. We must determine if we are in disagreement over opinions or if it is truth. We must not allow opinions to fracture our unity in Christ. Yet, it is often opinions that cause arguments and division.
What are we to do? We are to repent of our behavior that divides. We are to ask God to guide us back onto the path he would have us walk. We must ask God to put the love of Christ in our hearts and realize that God has been patient with us. We must hold onto the truth of God and release the opinions we have, knowing God has granted us eternal life.
I pray we all encounter Jesus. I pray we give up our opinions and refuse to be divided. I pray each one of us know God’s patience, mercy, and grace has granted us eternal life. Encounter Jesus. Don’t allow your opinion divide. God is patient. God’s mercy and grace has given you eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:15-16 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience as an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.
Marty Pressey 