1 Timothy 1:12-15
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

We all have a “before,” our own Before Christ, in a sense. We have all lived lives and sinned sins and did things that opposed God and His righteousness, because there is none without sin in this world. And we can admit that, and God certainly knows that, and He is the one who takes away our sin. He is the one who has to save us. And so He chooses to show us His abundant grace and love even when we are at our worst.

Paul could certainly attest to that. He wanted to live for God as an obedient Jew, but that led him to reject Christ and to persecute Christians, to send to prison and to kill people who simply believed differently than he did. And it was in the midst of that very thing that Paul met Christ and received new life and a new purpose for his life. Though he had sinned greatly directly against the Lord, he could be redeemed and forgiven and set free from the sins of his past.

So it is for us. Our “before” is covered by the blood of Christ. Our sins are washed away. We are completely free from the guilt and condemnation of our past, our failures, our great offenses against God. There is in Christ abundant grace to forgive all and to make us new, fit servants for His purpose for our lives. That is a powerful testimony before the world: “I was a chief sinner, but Jesus came to save sinners exactly like me, and He can do the same for you.” Don’t let your “before” keep you from coming to Christ, but bring all of it before the Lord and lay it at His feet and let Him take care of it as only He can. There is mercy waiting there for you.