1 Timothy 1:15-The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
I personally am a big fan of biographies of famous people who have died, whether it’s athletes, musicians or actors. I really enjoy getting behind the scenes of their public lives and getting a glimpse of who they really were. I always find it fascinating the fear we have for people to find out who we really are, and in most cases afraid to accept it ourselves…

The apostle Paul allows for us to get a glimpse of his biography in a way throughout the New Testament. I love how Paul is unabashed about his struggles and even downright thankful to have them! What was it about Paul that made him so free, to not only be upfront about his struggles, but also not live in denial of them?

The answer of course is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Where Paul could talk about how much of a sinner he was, and did not allow the negative stigma of sin to cause him to sink into denial and self-loathing. He did the exact opposite and embraced the fact he was a sinner, and coined himself the foremost of sinners!

Only the gospel and allowing it to shape our thinking about ourselves can deal with such a stigma. Knowing we have sins that we hate, and find ourselves constantly struggling in is one thing, but what we do with such a realization is another. Fight to understand the reason Christ came to redeem us. It is for us to be able to rest in His forgiving grace and mercy, so allow your flaws to be embraced by His perfection!
In His Love, Ld