God’s Grace Glorified In Me | Galatians 1:21-24

Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 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 1:21-24

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There are three ways Paul describes his conversion here:

Unknown.
Radical.
Glorifying.

Everyone's conversion experience is a little different. For some of us, it was more like Paul's, an unknown and radical confrontation by Jesus on the road to persecute his people. But for others, our conversion was a little more known and less radical. Either way, the end goal is always the same—the glorification of God in a believer.

For those of you with a conversion experience more like Paul, you need to know you will have a lot of hard work to do. Paul was such an ardent persecutor of Christians that he was going to have to work longer and harder than others to find acceptance in the believing community. These years would add a decade of rethinking, relearning, and rebuilding trust with many in the believing community. As you will see in the next verse (Galatians 2:1), it would take between 3 and 14 years before believers trusted him, and before he could speak to the leadership in Jerusalem again. That's a long road of rebuilding.

It is easy to miss this in Paul's story. While he was forgiven and justified immediately by the grace of God, there were still natural consequences of his past actions, whom he had forever injured, imprisoned, flogged, and even killed by his authority.

Some people want to dismiss these natural consequences. We hope that the faith community will forgive and extend grace the same way God does, but this is not always the case. People wounded by the consequences of our sins don't always forgive and trust as quickly as we want, which is a justifiable concern.

But given time and faithful obedience, those we have hurt and harmed will know our unknown testimony and witness our radical transformation, and God is glorified through us. This glory results in great rejoicing. It's the radical transformation of a soul opposed to Jesus who now proclaims him.

So, if you live in the shadows of a long, scarred past, hold fast to the unwavering grace of God. Persist in rebuilding trust with your community of faith. For in your perseverance, like the perseverance of Jesus, God's glory radiates ever brighter within you and testifies to his unending grace.

#ConversionJourney #GraceUponGrace #RadicalTransformation #ForgivenessAndFaith #GlorifyGod

ASK THIS:

Reflecting on Paul's journey from persecutor to preacher, how does his story challenge your understanding of God's grace and forgiveness in your own life?
Considering the time it took for Paul to rebuild trust within the believing community, what steps can you take to actively cultivate trust and reconciliation in relationships where you may have caused harm or hurt in the past?

DO THIS: Do the hard work of enduring in the grace that Jesus endured for you.

PRAY THIS: Father, thank you for your boundless grace that transforms even the most hardened hearts into vessels of your love and redemption. Grant me the strength and patience to faithfully walk the path of reconciliation and trust-building in the wake of my past mistakes, all for the glory of your name. Amen.

PLAY THIS: Call It Grace.