1This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who gives us hope.

12I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, 13even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. 14Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.

15This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 17All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.  1 Timothy 1:1, 12-17
The Apostle Paul reminds Timothy of his testimony and celebrates Jesus’ extraordinary grace. How gracious Jesus has been! Paul in no way deserved Jesus’ love; in fact Paul was a persecutor of the church. Paul rejected Jesus as the Messiah and turned to violence in order to rid Jerusalem and the region of anyone who confessed Jesus as the Lord.

But that all changed after the intersection of Jesus and Paul on the Damascus Road. Jesus has become the source of Paul’s faith, hope, and love. That’s true of you and me. We in no way deserved Jesus’ mercy. But somewhere in our history the Risen Lord Jesus intercepted us and brought us into his Kingdom. He is now filling us with faith, hope and love. We have been changed! He is changing us!

Faith from Jesus changes our view of our past:  forgiven.

Hope from Jesus changes our view of our future: secure.

Love from Jesus changes our view of our today: full of possibilities.