By Annaika Dastine | Founder, Who Is This Jesus? Ministry

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me."

My friends, studying Romans 1:1–7 has caused me to reflect on my own journey as a follower of Jesus.

How often do you stop and reflect on the grace of God in your life?

Paul makes a powerful statement: “By the grace of God I am what I am.”

To understand the weight of those words, we must remember who Paul was before grace transformed him.

Read Acts 9.

Paul was not searching for Jesus. He was persecuting those who followed Him. Yet on the road to Damascus, Jesus met him. The man who had been persecuting the church would become God’s chosen instrument to proclaim the name of Jesus.

That is grace.

But Paul tells us something else: “His grace to me was not without effect.”

Grace did not leave Paul where it found him.

Grace changed him.
Grace called him.
Grace produced obedience.
And grace carried him through suffering as he fulfilled his calling.

This is exactly what we see in Romans 1:5: Paul received grace and apostleship to call others to “the obedience that comes from faith.”

So, my friend, don't only ask, “Have I received God's grace?”

Ask yourself:

What effect has God’s grace had on my life?

Has His grace changed how I live, how I speak, how I obey, and whom I follow?

Because the grace that saved Paul from darkness did not leave him in darkness.

And neither should it leave us unchanged.

Weekly Scripture 1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV