Acts 9 in The Message and TNIV Translations
We were introduced to a man named Saul at the execution of Stephen in Chapter 7. As I read that, I thought of Tyler Durden...you know, from Fight Club. Tyler was young and mean, but he was also the badest of the bads. Yeah, he fought, but most of the time Tyler was watching others, encouraging them, standing over them like some sort of guru.
I thought about that because I knew the rest of the story. I knew who Saul was and what he did to the early Jesus-followers. In today's chapter, we read that he was on a rampage. Apparently, the stoning of Stephen set him on a spree. He wreaking havoc on anyone and everyone who named the name of Jesus. It's easy to jump on the guy, but realize that he was a Jew's Jew, an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God's law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting Christians; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law book" (Philippians 3:5-6). If you were this committed to your faith in Jesus, and someone came around claiming that he was not who he said and that they had another Messiah, you would want to stop the spread of that as well. This new movement was a threat to everything Saul had built his life upon. He had to stop it.
I love the way Jesus gets right up in the face of Saul. Jesus identifies himself as the one who Saul is persecuting (sounds a lot like "whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me"). Paul is literally blinded by his encounter with Jesus and went into to Damascus for three days - eating and drinking nothing. He then spends a few days learning from a man named Ananias and learns what it means to be a Jesus-follower - and gets consumed by the Holy Spirit. Then heads out to be the largest proponent of the Jesus-Life the
Now that's a testimony! Sometimes I wish I had a good, juicy testimony.
Note: It's common thought that Jesus changed Saul's name to Paul, like he changed Simon's name to Peter. This is not what the text tells us, though. We aren't sure when or why, but in chapter 13, Luke refers to Saul as the one called Paul. Saul is a Hebrew name and Paul is the non-Hebrew Gentile equivalent. Paul may have changed his name to reflect his change of life and/or to assist him in reaching the non-Jewish people. We are simply left to infer.
I've actually heard a mother pray that her children never have a good testimony to give. I guess your mother did too, Brad.
ReplyDeleteI like how you put the Saul thing in perspective. I was having a hard time comprehending how someone could be so hateful toward the disciples, but thinking about his perspective helps.
I think it was Billy Graham that once said, "The greatest testimony a young person could ever have is not what God got them out of, but what He kept them from getting into."
ReplyDeleteYeah, yeah, yeah...I get it, but wouldn't it be cool if I had....;-)
It seems like it is tough to go through life without ever having a Saul to Paul moment(s). Some time or another we have circumstances that leave us "blind", or without our own resources to handle things and have no other option but to choose God. But I was wondering about those that were raised under a different religion (somewhat similar to Saul) that think we as Christians are crazy or fools or whatever. Is Al Queda against capitalism or Christians (or both)? I just know they think we should be eliminated (similar to Saul). So, my question is somewhat parallel to our earlier question about miracles in today's world... do those that persecute Christians in today's world ever have Saul to Paul moments? It seems like there is a world of "unsaved to saved by grace" cases and very, very little of "converts' that go from hating and persecuting to the type of crazy for Jesus leader that Paul became.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if that makes sense or not either, but you guys screwed up and will let people like me comment. Hope my weird questions and comments don't scare anyone off from talking to me at church...
Stan, I think I'm tracking with you here. I thought I'd do a quick search to find some conversion stories that might fit your criteria, and I came across this website that proved to be some interesting reading - http://www.answering-islam.org/Testimonies/ Some of the stories are more extreme than others, but they are pretty drastic.
ReplyDeleteMost people I know, came to faith in Christ at a young age or came to faith from an agnostic point of view - they were friendly to God, even if they didn't trust them with their lives. Some may even say they believed in God, but didn't trust him. I sometimes wonder if these types of conversions are even more remarkable than Paul's because there is a certain degree of deception that people assume they are Christians just because they are surrounded by them. In the first century church, this wasn't an option. Jesus threatened every established form of religion, so if you weren't in, you were probably against.
I wonder how different we would be if that were the case for us here. How would our conversations at the breakfast table be different? How would our family time be different? How would our gatherings at the Y be different? Or would they?
Stan, I am now scared to talk to you at church....kidding of course! I love everyone's honesty and truly enjoy reading these.
ReplyDeleteStan, at least right now, we live in a culture that still has some respect for Christianity, and there are fewer outright enemies of our faith. The kinds of conversions you're thinking about definitely still happen in other cultures today. I can't name names for you, but I've heard plenty of stories from foreign missionaries that fit this template.
ReplyDeleteIn the USA, a few names come to mind. William J. Murray, son of famous atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair, is now chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition, an organization that advocates for Christians who are persecuted in islamic and communist countries. Lee Strobel was an avowed atheist and, as an editor for the Chicago Tribune, had a platform from which to attack the Faith. Today, he is a devoted follower of Christ and author of some of the best books out there that defend the faith. Josh McDowell set out to write a book to debunk Christianity as if he were a prosecuting attorney in court. After examining the evidence, he became a Christian and his book, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, became a best-selling defense of Christianity. Dr. Ergun Caner came to the USA as a muslim and son of an architect who came to the US to build mosques. I don't know much about him so don't consider this an endorsement, but he is now a prominent Christian speaker and advocate for Christianity to the islamic community. Anyway you get the point: yes, actual enemies of Christianity still become Christians today, just like they did in the first century.