Devotion:
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Read Acts 9:1-6 and 18-20.
We know that Saul was a Jew and a Pharisee who viewed the Christian faith following the death of Christ as a threat to his religion. Like many of the Jewish religious leaders, Saul thought that Jesus of Nazareth was a false messiah, and he was determined to stamp out the Way. We can only wonder if he was surprised to see those early Christians maintain their faith even as he threw them into jail. He must have been shocked to stand, watching Stephen being stoned, and to hear him ask God to forgive those who were brutally killing him.
When Jesus called out to Saul on the road to Damascus, Saul called him “Lord,” showing that he realized God was speaking directly to him. That dramatic encounter, followed by three days of total blindness, gave Saul time to think and pray. It was a huge tipping point, the greatest in his life. Upon recovering his sight, Saul was baptized into the faith. The hater and persecutor of the early church became its greatest evangelist, taking the Good News far across the Roman Empire to other Jews but primarily to Gentiles.
Gracious God, most of us will never experience anything comparable to Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. But you are just as real to us as you were to Saul. Help us to celebrate your gift to us of eternal life through our faith and your grace. Amen
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