I didn't really know what to write today. I mean, we've all heard the story of Paul’s conversion countless times & the rest of the chapters were pretty basic. So, I spent some time searching for commentary & found some interesting thoughts.
“Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. (9:4-5)
Paul is confused. He doesn’t see himself as persecuting God. Paul thinks he is doing God a service, defending his way against the apostate Christians. Saul then asks, “Who are you, Lord?” Saul doesn’t yet know it is Jesus. He seems to understand his vision as a revelation from God. As the account shows, Paul is open to God’s self-revelation, even though he is unaware of his purpose.
I found it very interesting to stop & consider that Paul thought he was on the right track. He actually thought he was serving God, definitely not persecuting him.
How do we turn our service away from God or come up with a mission that we consider is for God & yet is not on the right track?
One thought that comes to mind is how social media is often used these days. People go on & rant about one thing or another or they will argue with others over their perspective of what is right or wrong. Is this really serving God’s purpose? We may think that we have to prove our point or make it known how one viewpoint or another is so off base. And yet, will this method really bring anyone to the Lord? I think it probably does a whole lot more harm than good.
“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man & all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.”
When God commands, we must obey. He doesn't answer to us & we don't need to understand the “whys,”our only place is to follow.
3 comments:
Good point about Paul thinking he was serving God by persecuting the Christians. Important then to remember that we need to be constantly reading His word and praying, trying to stay on the right path for Him.
So true that God does not answer to us. It's certainly not wrong for us to ask questions, but we need to be prepared to obey whether God explains the request or not.
A well known story, but a good reminder of how God will use people to further His kingdom no matter what their past was like. We too need to see Jesus and stay focused on Him to make sure our desires are inline with His.
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