It’s easy to forget that a little over three years prior this was
the man who was known as the Christian killer. This was the man
that Jesus startled his horse to throw him off into the dirt road, to come face
to face with him. This is the man that Jesus asked why he harasses
Him so. This is the man who once was Saul.
The life of this man was full of evil, hate, envy, strife,
contempt, judgment, jealousy and he probably felt very alone. I
would think that Saul was an island onto his own. He probably had walls
so high that no one was able to climb them to break them down. He
probably had standards that matched the height of his walls, which again, kept
people away from him. Saul’s heart had probably been very damaged and
broken and instead of healing, it became hardened and cold.
The story of Saul is one that I believe many people can relate
too. You don’t have to be a murderer, a convict, anti-religion, anti-God,
or really anti- anything to understand the story of Saul; you just need to be
human.
There are thousands if not millions of Saul’s walking around in
this world, yes, most of them don’t go to the extent that Saul went to, to
prove his disdain for others, but that doesn’t mean it they exist. They are walking around every day wounded and hurt, wanting
desperately for someone to scale the walls of their hearts to help them heal,
but knowing they won’t allow anyone close enough to allow that to happen.
The transformation from Saul to Paul happened because one Man, one
Glorious, Perfect Man stopped him in his tracks. Jesus, saw the heart of
Saul and knew that He was just that Man to climb those walls and heal the heart
that had been so hardened. Jesus exposed Himself to Saul on that dirt
road in Damascus and changed the life of not only Saul, but millions of others
to come.
What Jesus did in that moment was show us that even the heart of
stone, the heart of hate, can become mush in the sight of Love? Perfect
love! Jesus loved on Saul and proved Himself worthy of the space in
Saul’s heart. Jesus proved that not only would He not let Saul down, but
He wouldn’t allow him to be damaged again. Jesus would not only heal him
but protect him from that moment on.
Transformation is beautiful and it occurred with Saul completely
by changing his name to Paul. Paul then dedicated every ounce of his
being to spreading the word of Jesus. There was no place to far, to
violent, to remote, to crowded, to Jewish or to Gentile that Paul wouldn’t
venture into. He sacrificed his life the way that Jesus sacrificed His
life for us. Paul was giving his life in the service of Jesus Christ, so
that no one would live a day the way he did, before his transformation.
We see Paul going over the list of things that he has done to
prepare his loved ones and friends for his departure and clues us into the
fact that he knows in his spirit that he will not see them again. He
tells them to cling to the Word of God and to never shrink back to someone speaking
against God’s word.
He is telling them how to protect themselves, now that he will be
gone, and not able to protect them anymore. He is also in a way asking
them to be strong and carry on the work that he has begun and continue to
spread the name of Jesus Christ and educate people of the one true God.
In Acts 20:35, to me this says he got it. This says, to me,
that Paul truly not only had a transformation of his heart but a transformation
of his spirit. In everything I have pointed out to you (by example)
that, by working diligently in this manner, we ought to assist the weak, being
mindful of the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, it is more blessed
(makes one happier and more to be envied) to give than to receive.
There is a difference in a person, that is easily seen with the
naked eye, the eye of the none believer and the eye of the believer. You
can decipher between a people who believes the changes with their hearts and
who embodies those changes, which is transformed to become the changes.
Paul is a perfect example of this.
Paul, not only walked the walk, he talked the talk, he performed
the miracles, he lead the sheep to their shepherd, he healed the sick and he gave
life to the dead but, to me, above all of these things, his heart, spirit, soul
and mind were all aligned and plugged in to the Heavenly Father He worshiped
and revered so deeply. He was the transformation.
When I think of the beauty of Paul’s life up to this point, and
the way he is going out of his way to still protect the Children of God, I
could weep. This man has come so far in such a very short period of
time, and all of it, all of it happened on a dirt road in Damascus.
There weren’t weeks, months, and years of transformation taking
place. He saw, He opened his heart, he accepted, he believed and he
walked it out! Do we all wish we had the moment that Saul had with Jesus
on the dirt road in Damascus, I think we do, but will we all get it, I don’t
think so, but can we all have the transformation that Paul had… yes.
Your transformation might be in the way of forgiving someone who
has hurt you, and that is blocking you from fully connecting to God.
Maybe your connection is being stunted because you have an addiction problem,
and you just haven’t been able to say no to that person, you call a friend, who
supplies you with your Adderall addiction. Or maybe you are like me, and
you have been abused by all the people in your life, except one, who claimed to
love you in one way or another and the fear of trusting one more person, even
though it’s God, seems overwhelming.
Whatever it is…whoever it is… transformation is possible for all
of us, as well. We can all have our own experience with Jesus that will
lead us to change not only our lives, but the lives of the people around
us. We all carry the ability of Paul around in us and it’s up to us to make the same decision he did… and walk it out!
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