Acts
9:4-5 (NIV) – He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul,
why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom
you are persecuting,” he replied.
Have you had a
life changing experience? The most dramatic of those usually only come once in
a lifetime and define us for the rest of our lives. I have shared my own story
of encountering Jesus on a trip to Northern Arizona hundreds of times because
my life started in a completely different direction that day and I have never gone
back.
Jesus came to
Paul (then known as Saul), in such a life changing encounter, on the road to
Damascus. We first read it in Acts 9, but it is so significant to Paul and the
whole Christian church that Luke recorded it three different times in Acts.
Your personal life changing encounter with Jesus won’t be exactly like Paul’s,
but it is likely to have one or more features that Paul’s had:
- You won’t expect it - Paul was not seeking Jesus when he
met him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-2).
- Jesus will give you a new life mission – Paul’s life purpose went from destroying the church to expanding it throughout the then known world (Acts 26:14-18).
- Jesus will not promise it
to be easy but he will ultimately promise to make a difference in others’ lives
through you – Jesus
warned Paul he would suffer at the hands of those he tried to help but many
would come to receive eternal life (Acts 9:16; 22:15; 26:16-18).
- Others will see a change
in you but may not understand it
– Paul’s traveling companions saw the light when Jesus came but they did not
understand his voice (Acts 22:9).
- You may need others to
help you fully understand what follow Jesus will mean for you – Jesus did not tell Paul everything
he needed to know in the first encounter. Instead, he called the Christian
Ananias to Paul and give him the rest of the details he needed to know then
(Acts 9:10-16; 22:10-16).
How many of
these have you experienced in the ways Jesus has called you?
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