Lost and Found
“They only were hearing it said, ‘He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.’ And they glorified God because of me.”
Galatians 1:23-24 ESV
One of hardest things to believe as a human being is that our failures will not always define us. Failures often provide opportunities to grow and improve, and demonstrate change. Whether it’s your family life, sport/crossfit, or the business world, success is often a result of overcoming adversity.
An argument I’ve heard from many people and constantly have to fight within myself is how God could accept the terrible darkness that is the world inside me. It’s a constant spiritual struggle. This is where grace comes in. We can’t earn it-can’t even fully understand or comprehend it-but it’s absolutely there.
This is what brings us to Paul’s writing in Galations. He was “the chief of sinners,” that spent his time persecuting Christians before God blinded Him and called him to be an apostle. He goes on to say that the horrors that he committed became a foundation for people to see the glory and beauty of the gospel. Because of the change in Paul from darkness to light, people praised God.
Imagine you’re staring into a dark room for an extended period of time. The darkness is really the only feature you can take in. Every once in a while you think you can make out the vague outline of shapes, but you pass it off as your mind playing tricks on you. Then, all of a sudden, a small lantern is lit about 60 feet from you against the back wall, and all of a sudden light starts to flood into the room. There is no debating this introduction of light, because it’s so tangible. Not only that, but as the light grows you begin to see new aspects of the room that you never knew were there.
It’s always been incredible to me, how God uses the darkness in our lives to show the drastic change when the light of the gospel is introduced. In Paul’s opinion, there was no room darker than his. But people perceived the change in Paul not much differently than if they had been staring into a dark room. When the lantern was lit, the “chief of sinners” became an unmistakable light force bursting with the light of Gods grace.
Don’t allow yourself to feel like your past failures will limit your future opportunity to impact the Kingdom of God- only the author has the pen to change the script. And if you take the time look back after it’s all taken place, you might see that the story was written all along, because the God that was then, is now, and is yet to come… He’s the only thing that is equally ancient and yet new every morning… don’t underestimate Him, rest in Him.
Tyler Vaughn
Owner, Pathology Apparel
Son of the King