4 Minute Daily Devotions: The Least

1 Corinthians 15:9     For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Yesterday, I was sharing some laughter with a few church members. We were talking about God’s sense of humor and how funny we all must appear to Him at times. I also stated that I could prove God had a great sense of humor – after all, He had made me a pastor!

I think that I understand how Paul feels about his own ministry. He calls himself the least of all the apostles because he feels so unworthy. His past career as a persecutor of the Church stings his conscience from time to time. H realizes that it is only by the grace of God that he has been forgiven and redeemed, pardoned and remade. Paul’s past mistakes could have cost him his salvation; instead, the mercy of God and Christ’s great intervention has turned his life around.

I guess we all feel unworthy at times to be Christians. It’s a struggle to be good people everyday. We all fail through things like anger, greed, pride, and lust – and yet God keeps coming back to us, to allow us mercy and grace through Jesus Christ, His Only and Holy Son. A lot of people think that Christians are perfect, holy, and self-righteous people, but honestly, I believe that Christians are people who make mistakes, confess their sins, and look to Jesus to forgive them, restore them, and encourage them day after day.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, without Your grace we could never be restored to God’s favor and love. We know that at some point, we’re going to fail You today and we wish that we could avoid being sinful. However, we are glad that Your Goodness and Holiness, Your Sacrifice and Sovereignty allows us the opportunity of forgiveness and reconciliation, of pardon and reunification with God. In Your Holy Name, we humbly and thankfully pray. Amen

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.