You Can Too-1/25/2012

"And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what will you have me to do?" Acts 9:6

These are the words of Saul, later known as Paul, the moment he came into contact with the risen Lord the first time. It is important to know some things about this man. The scriptures tell us that he was a rising star in the Pharisaic movement. Self described as a "Hebrew of Hebrews" and a student of the famous Rabbi, Gamaliel, it was he who stood by and watched the outer garments of those who had removed them to stone Stephen for his truthful testimony of the Lord. It was he who viewed the followers of Christ as both such a threat and such a blasphemy that he took up arms against men and women of the faith, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter." Saul was a bad man and had become famous for being so.

Once he met Jesus, however, he changed his life completely. He immediately began working for the very Lord who he had vigorously persecuted. Not only did he preach the gospel, pen nearly half of the New Testament and play an instrumental role in carrying the good news to Gentiles, he willingly suffered tremendously in order to do it all:

• Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 2 Cor 11:23-25

Beloved, we all struggle with being who God wants us to be. We struggle with being who we know we should be. We may all deal with different things that distract us and weigh us down, but we all have something(s). Paul's conversion is offered as inspiration. He could not have been further from the Lord. In nearly an instant he could not have been closer to the Lord. Make no mistake, he could easily have refused Jesus at any point. God does not make us choose Him or obey Him. Paul did. If he can, we can and we are much closer to the objective than he ever was.

Rejoicing in the Lord,

Lee