Acts 9:1-9; 22:6-16
That’s what Saul got - a good knock in the head! It was the proverbial wake up call! Saul was on the wrong side, doing the wrong things and believing everything was all right! So Jesus came down and sent this fired-up Pharisee to the ground in a blaze of brilliant light and with a dumbfounding question from out of the blue: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
Saul was dumfounded. And blind. It was enough to put the fear of God into a person. So, Saul asks two questions of the Voice. “Who are you, Lord?” Good question. Good to know who has the power to appear out of nowhere and strike you blind. “I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.” How that must have caused a sickening feeling in the pit of Saul’s stomach. It had been his recent passion to oppose this new teaching and persecute these Christians. Now he knows that this Jesus is truly who His disciples have been saying He is - the Son of God. Ouch!
Saul asks his next question. “What shall I do, Lord?” Another good question. If you suddenly come face to face with the Son of God Himself and find out you’re doing some things very wrong, it’s really the only question to ask. Jesus told Saul to go on into Damascus where someone would come and tell him what to do. Saul went. Ananias came. Saul’s sight was restored. (This was only after the inner spiritual blindness was corrected.) Then he was told, “Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.” And Saul did. And Saul began to preach Jesus.
There are times when we all need a good knock in the head like Saul. We have our Christian lives on cruise control. Church has become a ritual. We aren’t growing in the Lord. We do nothing different. We’re lukewarm. We may even hold to some beliefs and practices which aren’t found in the Scriptures. Look out! The Lord is coming with that good knock in the head. Will you be heart-ready like Saul with this question: “What shall I do Lord?” Hmmm?
><>Jeff