Acts 9:1-6 gives us the account of the conversion of Saul. He is changed from being a man intent on destroying the church into one of Christianity’s greatest advocates. A Sermon on this passage can be found here.
What can we learn about the process of change from this account?
Firstly… Changing from doing things our way to doing them God’s way takes time. Whilst the flashing light and voice from the sky were things that happened in a moment, the time leading up to the decision was one that took many twists and turns. It was the influence of many of those he persecuted that helped change Saul. Scripture mentions the martyrdom of Steven as being one of the events that Saul witnessed.
A similar story holds true for many if us. We can’t all point to dramatic moments of decision but many of us are aware that the call of God had been consistently pursuing us over the years… as much through our mistakes as through our triumphs.
Secondly… Notice how personal the call is. Jesus calls his name. “Saul, Saul!” In a similar way the call of God is one that demands our personal response. Belonging to a church, attending services of worship, going through the religious motions… all these are important aspects of belonging to a religious community. But we can do all those things without realizing that there is also an intensely personal dimension to being a disciple. We are called to a personal relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. One of the marks of that relationship will be the realization that God knows who we are… and calls us by name.
Thirdly… To follow God’s way means turning from doing everything our own way! This may be stating the obvious. But we cannot go on doing the things the way we’ve always done them and claim that we are following the new way of Christ. If change is to come to our world, it has to begin with us! The spiritual journey is one of putting away the old and embracing the new.
Prayer: Lord, help me to pursue the new life of Your Spirit. Teach me this week to find Your way amidst the many ways that will seek my attention!
I enjoyed this blog very much, Pastor. I especially enjoy the focus in point #2. I spent parts of three summers in Greece as a teen on retreats created by the Greek Orthodox Church here in North America. I learned from young priests and seminarians there *how* to give myself permission to have a personal relationship with God.
Sometimes it is simple as viewing Life-with-a-capital-L in the context of God and things bigger than man. But over the years, I’ve learned that I have the most peace in my life when I acknowledge God’s presence throughout my day.
When I talk with lay folks sometimes, I learn they haven’t given themselves permission to do so even though every member of the clergy says “Talk to Him, invite Him into your life. It’s okay, really!”
And it really is okay and fun and exhilarating to do so.
Nicely put here today, Pastor Adrian.
George, I like the perspective of giving ourselves ‘permission’ to have a relationship with God. It really is ‘OK’… and it surely does add a new dimension to our daily lives! Thanks for sharing.