Road To Damascus
3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:3-6)
When we first meet Saul, at the end of Acts 7, Stephen - an apostle of Jesus - was being stoned and those who were witnessing the event laid their coats at Saul' s feet. Then, the first verse of chapter 8 tells us that Saul approved of the killing. Saul continued to persecute followers of Jesus - called followers of "The Way" - by going from house to house and dragging believers to prison. After receiving letters to take to the synagogues in Damascus, Saul planned to do the same in that province. However, while he was on the road, Saul was suddenly surrounded by light so bright that he was forced from his horse. The voice Saul heard identified himself as Jesus and asked why Saul was persecuting him. When the light was gone, so was Saul's vision.
Saul was headed to incite church-sanctioned confrontations with people of the same faith who had come to a different understanding. Saul had every reason to believe he he was right according to the scriptures as he understood them - our Old Testament. But the presence and power of Jesus stopped him in his tacks, removed his sight, and forced him to submit to someone he had considered an enemy - someone who also considered Saul to be an enemy.
After three days, God spoke to Ananias - a follower of Jesus - and told him where to find Saul, and to go and pray for him. Although Ananias, knowing Saul's reputation, was understandably wary, God gave assurance of Saul's transformation and of God's plan to reach many through Saul's witness. Ananias was gracious in receiving Saul - calling him "brother" - and obedient in praying for him. Saul's sight was restored, and using his Roman name, Paul, he would fulfill God's plan for him by broadening the body of Christ beyond the Jewish community and even being credited as the author of thirteen books of the New Testament.
Sometimes when we believe we are right and justified in our position, we fail to really see others fully. We make assumptions about their intelligence and even their worth based on the fact that we disagree with them. But we never know whom God will use or how we will be called to extend God's grace. We are all works in progress. May we allow the light of Christ to broaden our vision of God's kingdom.
17 So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God." (Acts 9:17-20)
