The seed is Yours, the response is ours!

Scripture Read: 1 Timothy 1:12-14 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, ¹³ even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; ¹⁴ and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.  

Application: Paul understood how he was so undeserving of the mercy shown to him, and that not only was he eternally delivered from sin and guaranteed to be with God in heaven throughout eternity, but God was so gracious that He has chosen to use Paul for His kingdom. This gives Paul the opportunity to experience several things in his life. First, he can now sense complete fulfillment in his life because he is able to sense the purpose of his existence. When we come to Christ that horrible emptiness of purposelessness  disappears. First, we were made to commune with our Creator and experience life with Him. That comes at salvation. Second, Paul is being given time to invest for eternity. Salvation is free for us, but rewards in heaven are not. God could have saved Paul and taken him straight home. Instead, He has allowed Paul to live and use his life as an investment to glorify God. The last phrase in this section can be confusing Lord. 

What does Paul mean by “with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus”?  Doesn’t it require faith to enter into a relationship with Christ? Is Paul stating that even that faith came from Christ? The answer is yes and no. It would not be honest to say that man has no faith in him, unless he is a Christian. Your Word, oh Lord, states that You have placed the knowledge of Yourself in every man’s heart, so a seed of faith in You exists in all humans. However, until Your Spirit stirs that faith, humans will not seek you. Lord,You state if the Son of man be lifted up You will draw all men to You. We may not understand exactly how this works, but we can be assured that when a person is confronted with the Truth that You exist, they have inside themselves that seed of faith You placed in them. If they hearken to the Truth and respond, as Paul did, then Christ brings the maturing of that faith and love in the relationship He enters into with that person. A clearer rending of this verse is found in the NET Bible:

1 Timothy 1:14  and our Lord’s grace was abundant, bringing faith and love in Christ Jesus.

The seed of faith came by You, and when we respond to You, Christ brings salvation which includes the mature faith and love for You. Like babies, we begin with a very innocent faith and love. In the relationship that faith and love remain innocent, but become mature. We learn to trust You in everyway, in spite of trials, and we learn to love You above everything in life. Thank You Lord for teaching us how to trust and how to love.

Meditation Questions: What makes a child’s faith so attractive to God? Can that faith be mature? How? What is the difference between Child like faith and mature faith? Do they belong together? What stops us from trusting God? What kind of faith is that? How do we mature in faith? If you were honest with yourself right now – is your life “just passing time” or is it “investing in eternity”?