You Know Who I Was
“You can’t be a Reverend. We know who you are and what you’ve done.”
That is something people used to say to me.
And my response became:
“No, you know who I was, not who I am. Christ has made me new.”
Paul understood this better than most.
“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. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”
— 1 Timothy 1:15–16 KJV
Paul didn’t hide his past. He had persecuted Christians. He had caused tremendous pain. Yet Jesus Christ met him, showed him mercy, transformed him, and then used the very man who once persecuted the Church to help build it.
I understand that in a very personal way.
It took a long time for some people to accept that the man they once knew was not the man standing in front of them anymore. They remembered my mistakes. They remembered my past. They remembered things I had done.
But Christ knew who I could become.
Eventually, people began to see the change—not because I convinced them with words, but because they could see Christ working in my life.
Your past may explain where you came from, but it does not have the authority to determine where Christ is taking you.
Some people will always remember who you were.
Let them.
Keep walking with Christ. Keep allowing the Holy Spirit to transform you. Keep living in such a way that eventually your life speaks louder than your past.
When someone says, “I know who you are. I know what you’ve done,” you can remember:
They may know who you were, but Jesus knows who you are becoming.
Your past can become part of your testimony—not because what happened didn’t matter, but because it shows just how powerful the mercy and transforming grace of Jesus Christ truly are.
Don’t be ashamed of the person Christ rescued. Let your life point people to the One who rescued you.
