A Mission of Change
“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
Acts 9:3-6 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.
‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'”
Can God use us even if we’ve made mistakes? What if we’ve made a lot of mistakes? I think it’s safe to say that if God can use Paul, He can use anyone . . . but we have to be willing to let Him.
“God told Abraham that ‘all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’ This promise was fulfilled in Jesus, Abraham’s offspring, and now it’s time for God to make good on that promise. He selects Paul to be the primary catalyst. God gives him the direct call to take the message of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles (everyone other than the Jews).
Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story
Paul responds to that call and is responsible for planting many Gentile churches, strengthening numerous others, and writing thirteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. . . . Few people in history have had as dramatic a conversion or as powerful an impact on the Christian faith as a young Jewish man who experienced a radical 180-degree turn in his life.”
“Alone in the room with his sins on his conscience and blood on his hands, he asked to be cleansed. Ananias’ instructions to Paul are worth reading: ‘What are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name’ (Acts 22:16 NIV). He didn’t have to be told twice. The legalist Saul was buried, and the liberator Paul was born. He was never the same afterwards. And neither was the world.”
Max Lucado, Cast of Characters
After Paul’s dramatic encounter with Christ, he had a lot of soul-searching to do. Temporarily blinded, he was forced to look inward and examine his heart. Was he willing to rethink everything he thought he understood? Would he trust God to completely transform him? The fact that we’re discussing it almost 2000 years later — or that we even know who Paul is, for that matter — gives us a pretty good clue that the answer to both questions is yes. Paul was willing to be changed, and because of this, he changed the world. If he can do it, so can we. We just have to be willing to let God transform us.
But why did God choose Saul of Tarsus, of all people, to become His representative? Surely, there were other qualified people. People with less blood on their hands. Why Saul? I’m no expert, and I certainly cannot claim to know God’s mind. But based on my limited research, it seems that Saul’s/Paul’s background, rather than disqualifying him, actually made him the perfect choice. As a well-educated Pharisee, he had the knowledge necessary to explain to Jewish audiences how Jesus fulfilled the requirements of Messiah. As a Roman citizen, he was able to travel throughout the Roman empire easily. And as someone knowledgeable in Greek language and culture, he was a perfect spokesperson to reach out to the gentiles. But most of all, he was zealous. Before his conversion, he was a zealous persecutor of Christians. Afterward, he put that zeal to work for Christ.
“During Paul’s travels, the church grew rapidly as many Jews and Gentiles came to faith in Jesus Christ. It was literally changing the spiritual climate of the region. . . . Conversion, after all, is change . . . Paul underwent an amazing change, and as a result, thousands of other people also were changed. Have you allowed God to reveal who you really are?”
Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”
1 Timothy 1:15 NIV
But what about Paul’s past sins? Didn’t that ever bother him? I mean, yes, he was forgiven. So are we. But sometimes it’s still hard to forgive ourselves. Did Paul ever struggle with his past? It seems he may have. In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he described himself as the worst of all sinners. But I think even Paul’s sinful past was part of what made him the perfect choice for the role God had in mind for him. Think about all the suffering that Paul endured during the course of his life: He was repeatedly beaten and imprisoned. He was whipped. He was flogged. He was stoned. He was shipwrecked. And he faced opposition, hardships, and dangers during his travels. His life after his conversion certainly was not easy. Quite the opposite, in fact.
So, how did he have the courage to endure all of this? Actually, he not only endured it, he thrived, writing and speaking about Christ even while in prison. How did he do it? I’m only speculating here, but I think his profound gratitude for Jesus’ forgiveness gave him the strength he needed. I imagine thoughts of who he was before, rather than bringing him down, actually energized him for his work. Because he fully understood the grace he had been given. And he was driven to share the message of God’s grace with the rest of the world, using himself as a prime example: “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16 NIV).
Would anyone else have been better equipped to deal with everything Paul faced? I don’t think so. His background, including his sinful past, made him uniquely qualified to do what needed to be done to spread the Gospel “in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NIV).
“He introduced himself as the worst sinner in history. He was a Christian-killer before he was a Christian leader. At times his heart was so heavy, Paul’s pen drug itself across the page. ‘What a miserable man I am! Who will save me from this body that brings me death?’ (Rom. 7:24). Only heaven knows how long he stared at the question before he found the courage to defy logic and write, ‘I thank God for saving me through Jesus Christ our Lord!’ (Rom. 7:25).”
Max Lucado, Cast of Characters
“Paul knew that God now lives inside believers, empowering them to live a Christian life. Yield to the Spirit’s presence in you, and you will be changed for the good.”
Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story
Without realizing just how sinful he was, Paul couldn’t fully appreciate Jesus’ gift of forgiveness. So, even Paul’s sinful past was used for good in God’s plan. The same is true for us. But we must be willing to do what Paul did: Look inward and examine our hearts, rethink everything we thought we understood, and trust God to completely transform us. When we do, God can use everything in our past, even our mistakes, for good in His plan.
Just like Paul, God’s got plans for us — plans we can’t even imagine! When we encounter Christ, He invites to become a part of His mission of change in the world. And He is waiting to transform us and empower us for this work. Do we have the courage to let Him?
“[God] needed a culture-crossing, Greek-speaking, border-passing, Torah-quoting, self-supporting missionary, so he gave grace to Paul, and Paul shared grace with the world. And you? In a moment before moments, your Maker looked into the future and foresaw the needs and demands of your generation. He instilled, and is instilling, within you everything you need to fulfill his plan in this era. ‘God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing’ (Ephesians 2:10 NCV).”
Max Lucado, God’s Story, Your Story
This week’s Scripture passages focus on change, transformation, and our mission to share the Gospel. As we allow the Holy Spirit to do His transformative work in us, we become empowered to do His transformative work in the world. And who knows? Two thousand years from now, others may be discussing the difference our faith made in their lives!
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
References:
- Frazee, Randy. The Heart of the Story: Discover Your Life Within the Grand Epic of God’s Story. Zondervan, 2017.
- Lucado, Max. Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God. Thomas Nelson, 2008.
- Lucado, Max. God’s Story, Your Story: When His Becomes Yours. Zondervan, 2011.
- The Story: Read the Bible as One Seamless Story from Beginning to End. Rev. ed., Zondervan, 2008.
Images:
- Butterfly images by Chef_Kitty from Pixabay (edited)
- Sunlight image by Yse80 from Pixabay (edited)
- Man on Road image by Art-x A.I artxai from Pixabay
- Book image by Free Fun Art from Pixabay (edited)
- Dove and Cross image by gracethroughfaith from Pixabay
- Watercolor Background image by Dana J. Wright from Pixabay (edited)
About The Author
Christa
My vision for Wondertakings was to create a devotional blog for "nerdy" Christians like me. I do believe, as Socrates said, that wisdom begins in wonder. So I love to read or watch anything that inspires wonder and figure out what I can learn from it. I view it all through a Christian lens. I believe that God can and does speak through many sources in many ways, even if those speaking are not aware of it. I am not an expert in theology or religious studies. My goal with this blog is simply to share what I've learned as a fellow student and sinner in the Christian walk. My hope and my prayer is that by doing so I may be able to help someone else. In Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT), we are told: "Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives. . . ." So in the words of Moses (and Spock), live long and prosper, my friends!