Change Following God Through Life’s Crossroads
Change:
Following God Through
Life’s Crossroads
Who among us hasn’t clung to the security and familiarity of the present as if our lives depended on it—only to find out later what we would have missed if we had not been forced to change?
That’s Saul. How could he ever have imagined the crossroads he would come to, the risks he would take, the miles he would travel, and the new friends he would make along the way?
As RBC storyteller and author Bill Crowder shows in the following pages, it might be hard to find a less likely person to help us discover more joy and courage in our own journey than a student of Moses who once hated all who followed Jesus.
M ART D EH AAN
RBC M INISTRIES
Managing Editor: Tim Gustafson
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Unless indicated otherwise, Scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All rights reserved © 2012 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Unraveling a Mystery
Change. Is there anything more mysterious?
So many of us fervently desire what we don’t possess. If only I were older . . . If only I were healthy . . . If only I were in college . . . If only I had a job . . . If only I had a better job . . . If only I were married . . . If only my spouse wouldn’t do that . . . If only we had a home of our own . . . If only we didn’t live here . . . The list is as endless as our desires.
And yet, we fear change—the unknown and the possibility of failure or disappointment. Our frequent yearning for something different often clashes with our
fear of change. We can’t experience the new without going through some type of change.
There is a Bible character whose life seemed defined by dramatic change and who serves as an example of how to handle it. Aside from Christ Himself, he is the most quoted and most discussed figure from the New Testament. While his name and letters are well known, we often ignore his story. He is the apostle Paul.
It is natural that Paul’s name finds its way into many conversations among followers of Christ; he was an extraordinary man. His mission and travels were epic, his mind is esteemed, and his writings fill much of the New Testament. Yet his very name awakens us to the realities of the challenges of change.
Our discussions of Paul usually revolve around one of his letters, a statement from his theology, or some instruction he gave and how we should apply it. But what about the man himself? Far from being a largerthan-life figure carved out of marble, Paul was a man who discovered that the changes he violently resisted
In terms of volume, the letters of the apostle Paul make up roughly one quarter of the New Testament. The 13 letters directly attributed to him comprise nearly half of the New Testament documents.
Our frequent yearning for something different often clashes with our fear of change.
were in fact drawing him to the God who was greater than he had ever imagined. His transformation was so profound that even his name changed (ACTS 13:9). But swapping a P for an S, turning Saul into Paul, only skims the surface of the changes that fundamentally reshaped him. We will examine how God transformed the heart of a man who then turned the world upside down.
So who was this Saul/Paul? Let’s look at his story.
In Scripture, name changes often accompany significant times of spiritual transition or encounters with God. Other examples of this are: Abram to Abraham (GEN. 17:5), Jacob to Israel (GEN. 32:28), Daniel to Belteshazzar (DAN. 1:7), and Simon to Peter (MATT. 16:1718).
Resistance To Change
Looking at events that alter or redirect the course of history can produce a variety of responses. Sometimes these events horrify us (the Rwandan genocide or the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001), sometimes they inspire us (the first manned spacecraft that landed on the moon), and sometimes they challenge us to action (the 1960s American civil rights movement or the end of apartheid in South Africa). The last response—challenge—is particularly true in the events of our personal history. The collected events of our lives mold and shape us; they ignite the passions that fuel our pursuits, development, and growth.
Paul’s own history became both a joy and a burden to him. His passionate nature once compelled him to fear and hate followers of Christ for what he wrongly believed were noble motives. But to understand Paul the apostle, we must go back to those days when he was known as Saul, back to the ethnic and religious value system that drove his life.
A Proud Heritage (Philippians 3:4-6)
Though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Paul’s Jewish heritage was the seedbed of his passion. I understand that. Growing up in the southern United States, certain things were bred into my value system—
Circumcision was the physical reminder to the Jews of God’s covenant with Abraham (Gen. 17:10). When Paul put his “confidence in the flesh,” he was trusting that his religious adherence would bring him right standing with God.
The collected events of our lives mold and shape us; they ignite the passions that fuel our pursuits, development, and growth.
hospitality, kindness, and a measured pace to life. These values were so ingrained that they became a part of who I am. The same was true for young Saul of Tarsus. He was a product of his own place and time.
Saul’s personal heritage, his “confidence in the flesh,” grew out of his Jewish roots; he took great pride in being a law-keeping son of Abraham. He boasted of his ritual circumcision and celebrated his place in the tribe of Benjamin, the tribe that gave Israel her first king (ironically also named Saul). Though Paul was a “Hebrew of the Hebrews,” his background was not defined merely by his ethnicity. He was deeply rooted in the law of Moses—the driving force of his life. The centrality of the law in Saul’s life expressed itself in three directions:
An Upward Zeal. This is seen in the term Pharisee. The Pharisees were religious leaders who committed themselves to meticulous and unyielding adherence to the law. They even went beyond the law of Moses and established additional requirements as an expression of their devotion to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
An Outward Attack. In his passion for the law, Saul perceived the new church of Jesus Christ not only as rejecting that law but also as a direct threat to it. So fervent was his zeal that he viciously persecuted the church. In his mind, imprisonment and even murder were justifiable means of safeguarding the legacy, traditions, and priority of the law of Moses (ACTS 9:1-2).
An Inward Perfectionism. Saul of Tarsus practiced what he preached—he walked what he talked. So strict was his adherence to his religious traditions that he described himself as “blameless,” or perfect. If anyone excelled in obedience to the law, Saul did.
Additional rabbinic commands would become known as the Mishnah (which means repetition) and the Talmud (learning or instruction). These additions, along with the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), collectively serve as the authoritative guide for Judaism.
This was the heritage passed on to young Saul of Tarsus, and he enthusiastically embraced it. The life these values produced consisted of equal parts scholar and activist. Saul of Tarsus was a scholar deeply immersed in the law of Moses, the Old Testament prophets, and more. He would also have been versed in and observant of the leading
Though Paul was a “Hebrew of the Hebrews,” his background was not defined merely by his ethnicity. He was deeply rooted in the law of Moses—the driving force of his life.
rabbis of his day, as well as the oral teachings of the Talmud and the Mishnah. The rigors of his studies developed the value system imprinted on Saul’s heart from his earliest days—a system birthed by synagogue attendance coupled with the traditional home training given to Jewish boys of his day. This is important because, through this training process, Saul was gaining more than mere information. He was being molded in heart and mind to the spirit of Judaism.
This led to the other aspect of a life embedded in these values—activism.
A World in Motion
Saul’s activism was a natural outworking of his training. He was taught that these values were more than just guiding principles or helpful suggestions; they were absolutely essential to honoring God. There were no substitutes, no options, and no variations. A life lived for God—a life of purpose and significance—was anchored by a steely-eyed commitment to these teachings and their careful practice. It was a noble calling, but in Saul’s early adult years, it was a life under assault.
First of all, Judaism was feeling the squeeze of both political and military pressure from the occupying presence of Rome, a presence that often stood in open opposition to the values Judaism revered. The very sight of Roman soldiers on the streets of Jerusalem was both offensive and terrifying to observant Jews. Their banners bore the image of Caesar (a practice prohibited in Moses’ law, EXOD. 20:4-5) and were paraded through the streets, resulting in unrest and even sparking an occasional riot.
In a very different and ultimately more upsetting way, Judaism was under assault from a threat far more difficult to counter. The burgeoning Christian movement— people of “the Way” (ACTS 9:2)—was making inroads
into synagogues and, more importantly, into the hearts of the Jews. Many were converting to faith in Christ, creating a threat to the very practice of Judaism itself.
To young Saul, it is likely that this threat went beyond the practice of Judaism. In his mind, Christians seeking
to convince Jews to follow the Nazarene rabbi Jesus were not simply pulling them away from Judaism; they were a threat to their eternal well being. The activist in Saul was not merely attempting to protect Judaism from a competing faith; he was attempting to rescue faithful Jewish people from those he saw as wolves in sheep’s clothing.
These were the forces at work in Saul’s day, forces that created and molded in him a faith that was far from passive. He was actively engaged in the ceremonial [Paul] was taught that these values were more than just guiding principles or helpful suggestions; they were absolutely essential to honoring God. There were no substitutes, no options, and no variations.
practices of Judaism and fully committed to its physical defense. Yet despite the depth of his commitment to the law, Saul was about to discover that the thing he feared most was actually the very thing he desperately needed. The core of Saul’s worldview would undergo dramatic change—a change that began on a dusty road to the city of Damascus.
A Life Far Better
Saul of Tarsus passionately pursued what he thought mattered most because he thought the law of Moses was the source of life. That passionate pursuit led him down the Damascus Road and to an encounter with Christ that would not only change him but would also change the world.
A Terror-Filled Mission (Acts 9:1-2)
Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Saul’s passion for the law drove him to persecute followers of Christ. We first see this when he participated in the murder of Stephen, an early Christ-follower who boldly declared the message of Jesus. Extending the reach of the persecution, Saul moved beyond his meticulous observance of the law and embarked on a murderous campaign against the young church (ACTS 7:58–8:3). In an attempt to eradicate the influence of Jesus of Nazareth, Saul went outside Jerusalem to pursue the followers of Jesus. First stop, Damascus.
A Transforming Encounter (Acts 9:3-9)
As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
The story of Saul’s conversion has become so well known that the catalyst for a fundamental change in perspective
In an attempt to eradicate the influence of Jesus of Nazareth, Saul went outside Jerusalem to pursue the followers of Jesus.
is often described as “a Damascus Road experience.” It is a fitting description, for few transformations have been so sudden and so sweeping as Saul’s encounter with Christ.
The scene is vivid. An intense light knocked Saul to the ground, literally depicting what was taking place in Saul’s heart. Even as the light of Christ engulfed him on the road, Saul’s heart was rescued from darkness and brought into light. This relocation is at the very core of experiencing salvation in Christ. In one of his letters, Paul described the transformation this way: “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (COL. 1:13).
This is precisely what Saul experienced on the Damascus Road. Though his life
was marked by spiritual passion, it had been cloaked in spiritual darkness and, as a result, his passions had been misguided. Now, in the light of Christ, young Saul saw clearly. The target of his persecution was not merely those he felt were opposed to the laws of Moses, he had been opposing Jesus Himself. On the Damascus Road, Saul came to an intersection that demanded a choice—a choice that would reorder his personal and private world. His life would never be the same.
When he asked, “Who are You, Lord?” (ACTS 9:5), Saul heard words he could not have expected: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” His life was immediately rerouted to one of loving submission to Christ. Saul’s encounter with Jesus produced a dramatic change in purpose. Moments before, he had been persecuting Christ’s followers. Now he would be numbered among them.
Saul’s purpose was now grounded in a new relationship with the very Jesus he had been so vigorously opposing. He would continue on to Damascus, but for a radically different reason.
The imagery of light and darkness has clear messianic significance. The curse of sin plunged humanity into darkness but the light of God appeared in the person of Jesus Christ and dispelled the darkness (John 1).
A True Change (vv.19-22)
So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name
Saul’s life changed at a foundational level, and his passion actually increased, preparing him to endure the kind of persecution he had once imposed on others.
in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.
For me, the key word in this passage is immediately. With the changing of his purpose, there was no lessening of his passion. Saul immediately became a messenger of the Christ he had once feared and resisted. And he presented
this message in the synagogue—the very place he had sought to “protect” from the gospel. It’s hard to imagine a more profound change. Saul had moved from spiritual darkness to the light of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Saul’s life changed at a foundational level, and his passion actually increased, preparing him to endure the kind of persecution he had once imposed on others. He began his journey to Damascus driven by a passion for the law, but a purpose more worthy of his devotion overtook him.
four A Purpose Much Greater
Sometimes the wisdom of God is a “no-brainer,” and sometimes the wisdom of God is a “headscratcher.” I suppose that is why the prophet Isaiah wrote, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (ISA. 55:8-9).
It isn’t exactly breaking news that God is wiser than we are. Still, it can be frustrating when He works in ways that seem counterintuitive. The life of the apostle Paul is a perfect example of this kind of head-scratching reality. Think back to the beginning of Paul’s story. His
background, training, and experience outfitted him perfectly to serve the early church as a messenger to the Jewish people. His thorough understanding of the Scriptures equipped him to counter the arguments of his Jewish brothers. And during the early years of his journey with Christ, Paul’s heritage as a “Hebrew of the Hebrews” served him well. On his first two outreach trips, he engaged in church planting by entering synagogues, presenting Christ from the Scriptures, and planting a new assembly among those who had accepted his message. But that would change. In fact, it had to change because God’s stated purpose for Paul was given in the instructions the Lord gave to Ananias when the newly converted Saul had arrived in Damascus: “But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel’” (ACTS 9:15, emphasis added).
God wanted Paul, the person best equipped to take the message of Christ to the Jews, to turn his passion
From the beginning it was God’s intention for Israel to take the message of the Messiah to all peoples on earth.
“Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him” (GEN. 18:18).
toward the Gentiles—all those who are not Jewish in race or religion. In Acts 13, this purpose came to fruition. Paul and his mentor, Barnabas, were engaging the Jewish people in synagogues throughout Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and
Paul’s background, training, and experience outfitted him perfectly to serve the early church as a messenger to the Jewish people. But that would change . . .
seeing people come to Christ. But they were beginning to face opposition. In Antioch of Pisidia the opposition was so intense that Paul embraced a change that would rock his world—and ours:
Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth’” (ACTS 13:46-47, emphasis added).
“We turn to the Gentiles” was a public announcement that the message of the cross was not limited by ethnic, national, or cultural considerations. It was a declaration that the forgiveness accomplished in the sacrifice of God’s Son was available to all people in all lands. Paul’s shift from a Jewish to a Gentile audience set Christianity on a path that will one day be fully realized in the presence of the Father: “They sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation’” (REV. 5:9).
Though the message of the cross had already been offered to Gentiles by Philip (ACTS 8:26-40) and Simon Peter (ACTS 10), it was the special assignment of Paul to take the story of Jesus to the nations. And take it he did. This mission took Paul beyond Asia Minor to Macedonia, Greece, and finally to Rome itself.
The work of creating a global family of faith began with the change that Paul initially feared and resisted. The change and mission that began on the Damascus Road would take him through joy and loss, celebration and suffering, shipwreck and rescue, imprisonment, and eventually death. Yet Paul discovered that this was a mission worth living and dying for. It was a mission rooted in a heart that had been changed by the cross and spirit of Christ (see GAL. 2:20). And this same mission
continues to draw passion, devotion, and allegiance from followers of Christ today. This change, however, did not come easily. Christ overcame Paul’s initial fears, doubts, and resistance to finish the transformation that began on the Damascus Road:
The change and mission that began on the Damascus Road would take him through joy and loss, celebration and suffering, shipwreck and rescue, imprisonment, and eventually death.
• Saul’s ancient namesake was marked by his intense hatred of David, but Saul of Tarsus’ hatred for the church was transformed into passionate love. Christ changes our hearts.
• Saul and much of the Jewish religious leadership saw Christ as doing grave damage to their law. But Paul discovered that Jesus is the means by which the law can be understood, honored, and lived in spirit. Christ expands our understanding.
• The movement of Saul’s heart away from a life and religion that depended on his own effort to one that depended
on God’s wonderful grace was evidence that Christ is more than a historical religious figure. Christ is our life and strength .
• Paul’s mission beyond Israel revealed a God greater than one nation could contain. Christ died for all.
• Paul’s transformation from bringing pain and suffering to others to a man devoted to the development and advancement of others imitated Jesus. Christ was the servant of all.
From Saul to Paul, from persecutor to believer, from protector of Israel to apostle to the Gentiles, Saul’s change is an example of what can happen in any life when Christ is given reign in that heart. It is the ultimate fulfillment of the forgiveness, restoration, and transformation the cross was intended to accomplish.
five Times of Change
Is there anything more mysterious than change? Change impacts us in ways we can’t anticipate and may not understand. This reality is not limited to technology, cultural values, or politics. There is no more profound change than when an individual finds hope and peace in the grace of Jesus. Paul experienced it on the Damascus Road and throughout his journey with the Savior—change so profound that all the elements of his Jewish heritage that meant so much to him faded into the background. He told the Philippians:
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (PHIL . 3:7-8).
Paul experienced this dramatic change in the purpose of his life, and so can we. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation,” Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 COR. 5:17).
“All things have become new” is the declaration that Jesus came into this world to transform men and women. For 2,000 years, people have found that those words powerfully describe the privilege of relationship with Christ. Though Paul saw himself as the “chief” of sinners (1 TIM.1:15), he knew that his life, purpose, and eternal destiny had been changed by Christ.
Paul wrote, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 TIM. 1:15). Interestingly, he did not write in the past tense when he made this claim. He still viewed himself as the most prominent sinner. This is reminiscent of his letter to the Romans, where Paul lamented his propensity to sin by saying, “Oh, wretched man that I am!” (ROM. 7:24).
The question for us is this: How do we respond to change? Do we kick against it, as Saul of Tarsus did early in his life (ACTS 9:5)? Or do we prayerfully seek God’s hand in it, as Paul the apostle learned to do in a lifetime of service to his Lord and Savior?
There is no more profound change than when an individual finds hope and peace in the grace of Jesus. Paul experienced it on the Damascus Road and throughout his journey with the Savior.
üFather in heaven,
We too are a people of strong emotion and commitment. Sometimes we cling to the present as if our lives depended on it, even though our hearts tell us that we have been made for something greater than we have yet experienced.
Thank You for using the life of Paul to show us that we are not alone in resisting the changes that end up showing us how much we need You.
Help us trust Your Son as our Savior
and as the Lord who can bring us to You. Your Son died in our place, and we believe His resurrected life impacts and changes us in ways far beyond our ability to understand.
Give us the grace to realize that change does not take You by surprise but is a means by which You help us to find in You, through Your Son and Your Spirit, more than our hearts ever imagined possible.
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