Eugene Peterson shares how when Paul writes about freedom, he doesn’t give us a formula; instead, he gives his own story for us to think on. Paul tells of his former life when he persecuted Christians in his zealousness but then how God revealed Himself and set him apart before his birth for His purposes. Instead of Paul depending on his knowledge and all he has done, he came to experience God blessing him, saving him, and loving him. God was at the center and Paul’s part was to believe and obey. The same is true for us because we can’t be free by earning but by trusting the Lord and obeying Him. We simply respond as God touches our lives. And we all live it out differently, because of God’s grace in our individual lives. Paul was certainly much different than Peter, but each was used in a special way. Aren’t we glad we don’t all have to be a carbon copy of someone else, but that God sets us free to be who He made us to be. He uses even our past, so nothing is wasted as we are transformed to be more like Him.
We each have a work to do in life that is unique, that expresses God’s love. He had a plan for us before we were born. Even those parts of our lives that we regret or feel inferior, He can transform and use as an expression of His power and glory. Let us not resist His voice to our hearts that calls us to be free in Him and free to be the person He created us to be.
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