READING: Psalms 26-28, Acts 22
“About noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me.”
Acts 22:6
It’s hard to find a more dramatic difference in just a few verses. It’s night and day, hot and cold, black and white compounded. On one hand, it’s Paul telling his story before meeting Christ: “Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in You imprisoned and beaten. And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I was standing by and approving, and I guarded the clothes of those who killed him” (Acts 22:19-20). Paul was incredibly zealous in his Judaism, so defensive and protective of it that he participated in killing those who threatened it. Commitment meant taking the lives of others.
On the other hand, it’s Paul’s calling after Christ struck him down in a bright light; as Ananias described it, “The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of His voice. For you will be a witness for Him to all people of what you have seen and heard” (Acts 22:14-15). In a gracious act that is difficult for most of us to understand, God called a murderer of His people to be His spokesman. Jesus the Nazarene supernaturally appeared to him and appointed him to be a witness to the nations. Instead of Paul’s killing others, he would eventually become the one persecuted for the gospel.
All of this story rings of the miraculous, but our conversion and transformation are no less miraculous. God may have reached us differently, yet our salvation is still the story of the eternal Creator initiating a relationship with sinners who have continually turned from Him. Even if we weren’t persecutors, we were rebels.
God specializes, though, in reaching rebels. His grace makes a difference.
ACTION STEPS:
- Spend some time remembering how God first reached you with the gospel. If you are not a believer, think about ways He might be reaching out to you today – like, through this devotional.
- Commit, or re-commit, your life to Him today. He’s a gracious God.
PRAYER: “Thank You, God, for your transforming grace. I praise You for life change.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Psalms 29-30, Acts 23:1-15
