August 21, 2025 | Be God's Family
The Persecutor Becomes the Proclaimer
Scripture: Galatians 1:13-17 (NIV)
13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.
Devotional
Paul and I have one thing in common; we were not always Christians. While I did not persecute Christians in the manner of Paul, I was hostile and resistant to notions of Christian faith. I did not have the “Road to Damascus” moment that Paul experienced. Jesus did not speak into my life in a moment of blindness (even though I was, in a way, as blind as Paul). The road taken in my journey has been longer, and the evolution was gradual even though there have been significant moments of spiritual growth along the way. If I were to provide an analogy of my faith journey, I would point to the parable of the workers in the vineyard in Matthew 20: I showed up for work around noon, but didn’t really begin to understand the job until much later in the day.
I take some comfort in knowing that I am not alone. Just as Paul found his faith, many others have come to faith more fully than I have. You could start with the criminal next the Jesus in Luke 23. As Christian Living contributor Jim Day wrote in “God Dots: Atheists Who Became Big Believers”:
“All of the authors / singers / God Dots were at some point in their lives self-proclaimed atheists: C.S. Lewis, Lee Strobel, Keith Green and even Taylor Caldwell, who in an interview in 1978 called herself a Catholic atheist. They ran smack-dab into their own God Dots and came away with faith that cannot be suppressed. Just as the apostle Paul had his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, Jesus has designed divine encounters for us. People seem to put a lot of effort into denying God, but He never gives up on them.”
I consider that good company to be in.
Paul also said he did not rely on people, but I did. I’ve had many Christian mentors, even if they didn’t know they were mentoring me. As I was writing this devotional, I spent time visiting with my friend Tim, who has been a friend for over 40 years, and his wife Snez. We spent time sharing our faith and our faith journeys. Tim knew me in my very non-Christian days, and I asked him if he ever thought I would turn out to follow Christ. He said he wasn’t surprised. Maybe he saw something all along that for far too long I didn’t see in myself.
I thought I was far from Christ, but Christ was never far from me. Is there someone in your life who believes they are far from Christ? Can you help them on their road to Damascus?
Poem
Lord, Come To Me
Psalm 119:41-48
May your unfailing love come to me, Lord, your salvation, according to your promise;… I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, for I delight in your commands because I love them.
Psalm 119: 41, 46-47
Lord, come to me,
Even when I do not know I need You
Even when my mind is set against You
Even when I kick against You
Lord, come to me,
Knock me off my pride
Burst in to my self-made prison
Take away everything which hinders
Lord, come to me,
Open my eyes to my own blindness
Open my ears to hear Your claim
Open my mouth to stand and declare
Lord, come to me
O King, I stand before You!
