What Can You Say To This?

“Paul ran from Christ; Christ pursued and overtook him. Paul resisted Christ; Christ disarmed him. Paul persecuted Christ; Christ converted him. Paul was an alien; Christ made him a member of the family. Paul was an enemy; Christ made him a friend. Paul was ‘in the flesh’; Christ set him ‘in the Spirit.’ Paul was under the law; Christ set him in grace. Paul was dead; Christ made him alive to God. How does one give reasons for this? He does not give reasons; he sings, ‘Blessed be God who blessed us . . . even as he chose us in him.’”
Lewis B. Smedes, Union With Christ (Grand Rapids, 1983), pages 86-87.

That's not just Paul's story, that's my story, really every Christian's story. I was running from Christ, I resisted Christ, I persecuted Christ, I was an alien, I was an enemy, I was in the flesh, I was under the law, I was dead and Christ made me alive to God, Christ pursed me, Christ converted me, Christ made me a member of the family, Christ made me a friend, Christ set me in the spirit, Christ set me in grace. All I can do is praise him and thank him.