Always ready to forgive

Ever consider yourself beyond forgiveness? Have you ever done something so horrible, so heinous, so hideous that you can only shake your head and ask yourself, “What was I thinking?” It’s in these moments that a thought can begin to sprout in our minds, a notion that our sin has exceeded God’s grace and that He’s unable or unwilling to forgive us.

Paul’s life proves otherwise. If God ranked our sin, Paul’s would be a solid ten. The Bible tells us that prior to his conversion, he was completely committed to wiping out every trace of Christianity. He was there holding the robes of those who executed Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and soon he was rounding up Christians and throwing them into prison (Acts 8:1-3, Acts 22:20). He even forced them to blaspheme Christ (Acts 26:11) and killed those who would not renounce their faith (Acts 22:4).

So Paul isn’t exaggerating or being diplomatic when he identifies himself as the chief sinner. If there was ever a person who seemed worthy of being disqualified from God’s forgiveness, it was certainly Paul. And yet, the astounding truth is that God was still willing to forgive Him. In fact, Paul points out that God forgave him in order to demonstrate that anybody can find forgiveness:

However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. (1 Timothy 1:16 NKJV)

God is always willing to forgive, no matter what we’ve done or how far we’ve run from Him. That’s a truth that ought to embolden and humble us.