The apostle Paul had reason to put the past behind him.

Before his vision of Jesus, before his conversion, he had been an enemy of Christ and of Christians. He was the one who bore a list of early converts, chased them down, dragged them to Jerusalem, and approved of their deaths. He was the one who stood before Stephen while he was stoned. He had ripped apart families, destroyed people, and done everything in his power to halt God’s life-giving gospel.

Paul had a guilty past. But his heart had changed, along with his name. He had met Jesus. Instead of being stunted by guilt, instead of creeping along with a weighted conscience, he sought forgiveness and moved toward a new goal, spreading God’s kingdom.

Paul calls himself the worst of sinners.

More than likely your past can’t rival his, but we’ve all had a life before Jesus, a time before we turned ourselves over to God. Perhaps it was a selfish childhood or a pleasure-driven adolescence. Perhaps you’ve broken laws or broken people. Sins aren’t measured in God’s eyes. We’ve all been guilty.

Now, thanks to Jesus, we are all equally free to turn our backs on our past and strive toward godly goals.