I'm sure most of us who have grown up in the church have, at some point, thought about "testimony envy." This is where we kind of wish we had a more dramatic and radical conversion story to share with our nonbelieving friends to shock them into accepting the gospel. Very silly. Let us remember that every conversion is a miracle and that God was gracious to save us (or at least protect us) at a young age.
But what about... "testimony shame?" Where you don't want to talk about the shameful things you've done, especially when these things happened after accepting Christ. It's super easy to say, "I did all these terrible things because I wasn't saved." It's embarrassing to say, "I messed up big time even though I have been saved." You tell yourself that you should have done better, known better, been better.
Well thankfully (thankfully!) life is not about us and what we accomplish and achieve or how well we keep the commandments and live a good life. No, it's about God and God's work and God's love and grace and mercy towards us. What a relief that we do not have to bear the burden of attaining perfection (Gal 3:3). God, who loved us and sent His only son for us when we were yet sinners, still loves us passionately despite our failures.
