Chief Amongst You

The other day I had a conversation with a friend about mistakes and the importance they are in our lives. It is easy to point the finger when someone makes a mistake and say, “Shame on you,” but I’ve learned from first-hand experience that mistakes are often our greatest teachers. They may not be the most gracious of teachers, but they are often the ones we never forget. After this conversation with my friend, it got me thinking about something the Apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:15. In writing to Timothy, he said, ^“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”

How could Paul call himself the worst of sinners? In the King James version, he says he was “chief amongst you (of sinners).” This was the guy who wrote almost half of the entire New Testament. Here he was saying he was the worst of sinners, that if anyone did not deserve the grace and mercy of God, it would be Him. Look at the verse in context:

Through the grace of God, Paul could declare himself an apostle  and a son of God. Here is a man who tried to kill Christians for their faith who through the salvation of Christ was now calling himself a “display of [Christ's] unlimited patience for those who would believe…”

Often we feel like our mistakes have disqualified us from the love of God. We know in our heads that God loves us and forgives us, but the truth cannot penetrate our heart because we have not allowed the grace of God to change our perception of what qualifies us to receive God’s love. Grace simply means unmerited mercy. We don’t deserve it, but God gives it to us anyways.

I am not grateful for the mistakes I have made, but I am grateful for what I learned through them. They have taught me that the love of God is beyond merit. It cannot be earned nor can it be lost. He loves me more right now than if I did anything different or made any changes in my life. The reason I do not repeat past mistakes or repeat the mistakes I’ve seen others make is because I do not want to do anything that would keep me from His love.

God is in the business of hiring sinners. He used one who committed murder and had an anger problem to lead the Israelites out of Egypt (Moses), he sent Jesus Christ through the lineage of a man who committed adultery and had someone purposely killed (David), he used a man who killed Christians as a profession to write almost the entire New Testament (Paul). Your mistakes have not disqualified you from employment. He is patient and wants to work through you too. I have been shown much mercy and I hope that because of that mercy, I too might display his unlimited patience.

If He can use the chief of sinners, think what hope there is for you!