December 31, 2014 1 Timothy 1:13. No Matter the Cost

1 Timothy 1:13

Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecuted and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

Was once....but am no more.

Oh how I love Paul's story....a story of such redemption.  A story of a man so totally sold out for what he believed to be truth that he dismissed and criticized the actual Truth.  He was so loyal to his cause that he persecuted and killed for it.  He thought he was doing rightful work and he did it with all he had.  He sought and killed Christians.  Until the day that God revealed to him the Truth, and on that day, he was humble enough to accept that he had been dreadfully wrong and changed.

Now , we aren't talking about a simple disagreement , misunderstanding wrong... A few hurt feelings and dirty looks wrong ....  We are talking about an entire career, an entire life-cause wrong.  Paul's life mission at that time was to rid the earth of all Christians by whatever means necessary. He wasn't even Paul yet but rather was known by Saul..a man greatly feared by all Jews.  

Until that fateful day, God literally blinded him.  Saul had an encounter with the One True God that day.  An encounter that immediately changed his life. An encounter that he chose to embrace.

And this is what I love about Paul....

He immediately recognized the error of his ways and changed...radically.  He turned away from his current position of both notoriety and stature and became just as sold out for converting for Christianity as he had just days before killing them.  When he came face to face with Truth, he aligned himself with Truth even if it meant publicly acknowledging his whole life up until that point was a lie. He changed even though it meant alienating himself from those who revered him and joining those who feared him.  He stepped out alone.

However in his heart, that didn't seem to matter.  What mattered was his allegiance to the Truth.  It didn't matter that he might be publicly scorned, what his friends would think...."how he could save face"..."how it could be spun to make it politically acceptable"...  What mattered was simply the Truth, no matter the cost.

May we all be so humble that when encountered with Truth we instantly align ourselves with Him.  We don't look left or right...we don't see how it will "fit" in this world nor the cost but we choose Him.  May we not ever be so proud that we stumble over the wrongness of our ways.