January 11. 2005

“And when they had driven him (Stephen) out of the city, they began stoning him, and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.” Acts 7:58

Saul was a hater of Jesus. He despised those who called themselves followers of Jesus. It was his mission to thwart the spreading of what he considered to be heresy, namely that Jesus was the Son of God and had defeated death.

But something happened to Saul. He had an encounter with Jesus, and that encounter was anything but ordinary.

“And it came about that as he journeyed, he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who art Thou, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but rise, and enter the city, and it shall be told you what you must do.” Acts 9:3-6

Do you ever wonder why God chose Saul (whose name was later changed to Paul)? Here is a man who has spent His entire life professing that in order to come to God one needs to live by a strict set of laws. This was totally opposite of what Jesus taught. This was a man who verbally abused Christ and physically abused anyone who claimed to follow Christ. Saul was a hater of Jesus.

And what strikes me as amazing in this passage of Scripture was not so much the way that Jesus approached Saul, but that He approached Saul at all.

He knew that this man would become a great evangelist, church planter, teacher and missionary. He knew that this man would be instrumental in taking the “Good News” to the Gentiles. He knew that this man would mentor men of faith like Timothy. He knew that because of his past he would have a great platform to work from in his future.

And he knows the plans that He has for our lives. He has plans to use us for the furthering of His Kingdom and the glorification of His name.

Today as you ponder these verses of Scripture, would you thank God that He has provided a way for us to have a relationship with Him? Would you thank God that He uses us in spite of our shortcomings and past failures? Would you thank Him for a love that isn’t based on performance and what we can do for Him?

Lord, today we thank you for the example of your unconditional love that we find in Paul. We praise You for having a plan for our lives, just as you did for Paul. And Lord we thank You that Your plan is not based on our works but on Your grace...