When I first started my walk with Christ, one of the biggest lies the enemy fed me was this:
“You’re too far gone. God can’t love someone like you.”
Because of the many mistakes I have made and all of my imperfections, I believed I was beyond saving and that God could never love or forgive a sinner like me. But that is a lie straight from the enemy, and it couldn’t be further from the truth.
Whenever I begin to doubt God’s love or question whether I’m truly forgiven, I remind myself of the story of Paul. Yes, that Paul who wrote much of the New Testament: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and more. Before he became a follower of Christ, Paul was known as Saul, and he made it his mission to persecute Christians. He was a man filled with hatred and violence toward believers.
But then something incredible happened. God met him on the road to Damascus, and everything changed. Saul encountered the living Jesus, and from that moment on, he was never the same. He became Paul, a bold preacher of the gospel, planting churches, encouraging believers, and spreading the message of salvation everywhere he went. If anyone could have been considered “too far gone,” it was him. But God saw him as he was and chose to use him even with his past and all of his imperfections.
The most important truth to remember when the enemy is trying to feed us these lies is that God isn’t looking for perfect people, he is looking for surrendered hearts and a willingness to follow and obey Him. The only thing God asks of us when we choose to follow Him is that we believe in Him, have faith in the saving work of Jesus, and trust that His grace truly covers every sin.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
– 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
When we give our lives to Christ, we are made new. We put our old ways to death and step into a brand-new life filled with hope, freedom, and purpose.
So if you’re reading this and wondering if you’ve messed up too badly or strayed too far I want to remind you that you are not too far gone and you are not beyond God’s grace. There is no sin too dark, no past too messy, and no heart too broken for God to redeem. If He could use Paul, He can absolutely use you.
Let that truth sink in today.
– Ansley Ledbetter