He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Paul 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.” — Acts 8:4-6

Though some might have r e coiled at the thought of their leader in chains for Christ, Paul was not hesitant in letting his sufferings be known. They were serving to advance the Gospel and he rejoiced in that, conveying to all an underlying sense of confidence and joy.

Formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, Paul was driven by a passionate desire to please God. He studied in Jerusalem under the famed teacher, Gamaliel, and had achieved the status of Pharisee at a young age. He claimed to have kept all the pharisaic laws to the point of being flawless, and for the Messiah to have been crucified on a cross (a death reserved for hardened criminals), greatly offended his religious ethics. He believed stories circulating about the risen Jesus to be fraudulent, and in his continued zeal to please God, Saul became a self-sworn enemy of the new Christian movement, convinced it had to be annihilated.

Accompanied by an entourage of guards, Paul set out for Damascus with the intent of raiding synagogues where Christians were likely to be found or their whereabouts made known. About midday, on the road to Damascus, a bright light shone from heaven, flashing around Paul, so overpowering he fell to his knees. From the light, he heard, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Paul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” To his utter amazement and shock, Paul saw and heard for himself that Christ was alive. “What do you want me to do, Lord?” he replied. From that moment, Paul was a completely changed man, and when he arrived in Damascus, it was with Christ’s agenda and not his own.

There has to come that moment for each of us; a moment when we humble ourselves before God and say “yes” to Jesus. No one can do that for us. No one becomes a Christian by regularly attending church, reading the Bible or living in the shadow of someone else’s faith. Becoming a Christian involves a deliberate, wilful response to God on our part. It is entering into an intimate relationship with Christ, which, in our walk with Him, imparts to us the same underlying confidence and joy Paul had. There comes that moment when we know because we know, and it is by divine revelation we grasp what Paul has said, “For to me, to live is Christ,” as the very essence of life itself.

Prayer: Dear Lord, from the moment I said “yes” to you, my life has been growing in you; first, in simply knowing you’re with me and I am forgiven; then in coming to know you more fully. Thank you for your presence in me and giving me a life where you are all I need.

To reflect upon: How long ago did that moment come for me when I said “yes” to Jesus? How has that transformed my life and in what areas have I seen the most significant change?