“Now as Saul went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’” Acts 9:3–5
The story of the Apostle Paul is amazing. The passage above is the first time Paul met Jesus. Like in Big Fish or The Dukes of Hazzard, we would have the narrator say, “Now you may be wondering how I got to this point in meeting the Creator of the world.”
But, just before this scene, the man we know as Paul was named Saul and he was a very devout Hebrew who said he loved God. In fact his view of things was that he could impress God even more by persecuting and even sentencing to death these Christians who claimed to love the Son of God, Jesus. Paul was so determined he was doing the right thing that traveling 135 miles to persecute more Christians fit the motive. Paul at this time was certainly not on God’s side but on his own agenda.
After this confrontation with Jesus, Saul became Paul. The Spirit revealed to him that he was a bad man who was murdering Christians. After that day, Paul loved Jesus and preached the gospel till the day he was beheaded for his faith in Christ.
Questions
- Paul’s past sins were horrific and they could have haunted and derailed him in his ministry, yet we only see him going about ministry boldly in Christ. Is there something in your past that hounds you? How does the gospel apply here? (What Scriptures in particular apply?)
- When was a time when you were convinced you were doing the right thing, but it turned out you were doing something God didn’t want you to do?
- How do you know if your mission is in line with God’s mission?
- If a narrator were telling your story, how would he/she describe where you are with God today?
Challenge
- Pray that God would reveal to you if there are areas in your life where you have been selfish and have believed you were doing things for God.
- If you are hounded by your past, know that you are free in Christ! Remind yourself that Jesus takes that sin upon himself and now there is no condemnation for you. Take time to testify to and praise God for his faithfulness.
