“The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 1:14)
Paul just got done listing what he had to offer Christ: blasphemy, persecution, violence, ignorance, and unbelief. Now he describes what Christ gave to him: “superabundant” grace, faith, and love.
If you are in Christ, he has done the same for you. The best of your goodness was worthless, evil, impotent. You had nothing to trade for God’s help. You had nothing of value to offer in exchange for even a little, tiny taste of his love.
So he gave you the ocean of his acceptance and forgiveness as a gift through faith in Christ. For free. Because he loves you. Anyway. He took your unbelief and gave you faith. He took your love of violence and gave you an unlikely love for him and his people.
He is rebuilding you not to make you acceptable to him, but to make you who you were always intended to be. Tat looks a lot like Jesus.
Think: Why is it so hard for some of us to believe we have no goodness in ourselves to make us acceptable to God? Why is it so hard to believe that he pours out his grace on us for free?
Pray: Thank God that he pours out his abundant grace on believers, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Do: Think about memorizing this short verse and kicking it around your head for the next week or two.