My thoughts on 2 Corinthians 1:12

2 Corinthians 1:12 “For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.”

For so long I did not understand grace. I did not understand that God loved me the same when I was good as when I screwed up. It took me years to understand that if we worked for our salvation then we could boast about ourselves. If we were strong and did everything for Christ instead of Christ in us then we would get the glory. Then it hit me. God gets all the glory because He does it all and that is what we can boast in. Just like this verse is saying: we cannot boast about what we have done BUT we can boast all we want in the grace of God. Because of grace God works in us we can rejoice in our testimony and behavior of holiness and godly sincerity. I don't know about you, but I love boasting in God’s grace because it relieves me of the pressure. Knowing that I don't have to live up to a certain standard and I don't have to earn God’s approval is so freeing. Thank God for His grace so that we don’t have to live our whole lives seeking to fulfill an impossible standard.

Application: Today I will do my best to not boast in anything that I have done. Instead of talking about me I want to turn the conversation towards what God has done in me.