The Light Summons Saul to go All In

The Light

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way,  men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” Acts 9:1-5

Light has an amazing affect on things as it reveals to us the reality of situations. A doctor uses light to look down your throat the same way a dentist looks for cavities using a light or a mechanic looks at an engine. A common saying is that things are “brought to light.” We have to go through something similar with God, having all of our old life brought to the light in order to see where we are falling short.

Saul, later re-named Paul, was a murderer of Christians before he ever came to know Jesus. This passage is the pivotal point, in which, Jesus changes one of the greatest persecutors of that time. Jesus is calling Saul out, revealing his flaws. Meanwhile, Jesus is revealing His own power to the amazement of Saul and his companions. In the same moment, Jesus is beginning to light the way for Saul.

Camp gets very dark after the sun goes down. I’ve found myself nearly on the ground many times when I don’t have a light of some sort to help me along the way. Without a flashlight, I could end up anywhere! This is exactly what Jesus is trying to do for Saul, and you, light the way to life. Will you let Jesus light your way?

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12

Blind!

And he said, “Who are you Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Acts 9:5-9

Light also has another effect on us from time to time. Going from darkness to light suddenly can blind us as our eyes adjust. It can even be a bit painful. When God suddenly reveals His glory to us, it also reveals our short-comings. This is a painful process that we need to go through in order to come closer to Him.

Saul rises to find that he is completely blind! How scary is that?! He hears the voice of Jesus telling him simply to go into the city and wait for directions. It takes a lot of faith on his part to do it because he’s been persecuting the followers of Jesus. Not only is he following orders from the Jesus whom not seconds before he was hating, but is now also blind and has to fully trust that God knows what is best.

We go through a very similar process when we become Christians.  God reveals His glory and we respond by following Him. Then we go through a period where we don’t know how to do something He’s asking us to do. We are, in essence, blind.

The key here is that Saul didn’t just give into woe and become a blind beggar on the streets. He simply trusted and did as he was asked. You see, God is going to ask you to follow Him to places that you may not understand or even see the purpose of. It is your choice to either become a blind beggar or follow God’s lead.

All In

For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name?” Acts 9:19-21

So Saul goes into the city and waits for further direction, as Jesus had told him to. A man named Ananias receives a vision telling him to find Saul and lay hands on him for healing. Saul has such a horrible reputation that Ananias is shocked and asks him if this is the same Saul that had been killing Christians. The Lord’s answer in Acts 9:15—16 is really cool here, ‘But the Lord said to him (Ananias), “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”’

Saul had made so many suffer for the name of Jesus and now it was his turn. Now we know that Saul later became Paul who wrote a large portion of the New Testament and suffered in horrible ways for the name of Jesus. The great thing is this; There is such an awesome testimony to God’s power when a man who hates Jesus, comes to Him and gives up his life for Christ.

Even after all that he’d done to kill Christians, he immediately began proclaiming Jesus to the temple! He, of all people, knew that the persecutors were seeking to kill Christians, yet as soon as God’s glory was revealed, and he regained his sight, he went all in. There was no hesitation in Saul, he simply knew what he had to do. Our hope and prayer is that as you begin to follow Him, you’ll go all in for Jesus.