December 30, 2022

Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Acts 9:1-2

Jesus had said: “They will put you out of the synagogues.”  John 16:2a

Present and approving at the stoning of Stephen was Saul. The event that brought the decisive close to the seventy weeks also precipitated the profound conversion of Saul, that highly trained and educated Jew of Jews, regarded as a young man of great promise; a most able and zealous defender of the “ancient faith.” But Saul was defending a corrupted religion which had been deemed by the Jews as the original.

Although Saul was a Jew by descent, by birth he was also a Roman citizen. With considerable power at his disposal, he brutalized the infant church. In order to carry this out, he placed his education and prejudices, his great respect for his former teachers, and pride in his own reputation ahead of the voice of conscience and the gentle grace of God. Saul’s internal rebellion against grace and conscience rendered him extremely bitter as he opposed the pure doctrines that were taught by these followers of Jesus.

But Saul, now called Paul, would be the very first to tell us that the direct and frightening confrontation by Jesus was the absolute best thing that ever happened to him. God’s gentle pursuit of His children necessarily develops into a full-blown crisis if they choose to live in rebellion. Paul was humbled, accepted the humiliation, and lived the rest of his life facing threats and hardship—the same types of threats and hardships that he had personally inflicted upon early followers of Jesus. Yet, from then on, his love for Jesus and the accompanying joy in his heart worked to cast out every trace of that old bitterness. Indeed, he lived a wonderfully fruitful life!

Each of us are meant to be personally blessed by the light given to this humbled man. Looking earnestly toward the return of the beloved Savior brought the prevailing hope that powered his thoughts and actions. These words in Paul’s prayer display genuine love for his fellow man and a great desire for our keen discernment in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ. Paul’s prayer for us can and should become our own for those around us:

“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.” Philippians 1:9-10

Why not memorize these beautiful words today?