Never The Same

  

DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

NEVER THE SAME

Acts 9:7-9

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

NIV

It is interesting how these men traveling with Saul hear the sound, which the Greek word has the meaning of voice, speech, or language. So, they heard the voice of Jesus but they could not see him. Of course, we are not told that Saul saw Jesus, but that he was surrounded by a flash of light from heaven when Jesus spoke to him. It is fascinating that Jesus said that while he was in the world, he is the light of the world, of course, we are also told that we have become the light of the world now because we have the Spirit within us. Still, Saul was engulfed in this light, although his companions saw nothing. This was a personal encounter with Jesus for one man and for him alone. Saul was the only one who had the experience of a lifetime. He heard from Jesus and the call upon his life. Although he became blind and had to be led into Damascus, he felt something happened that impacted him enough that he could not eat or drink anything for three days. There is, or should be, some sort of positive, beneficial jolt in life when it has an experience with Jesus. Becoming a Christian must be more than evolving into one. There must be a moment when we are surrounded by his light when we are experiencing the presence of the Lord for the first time in our lives. This is a time when our spirit is lifted up and felt free from the grip of death, and there is rejoicing resounding within our being. Saul had that feeling, that collision with Jesus that changed his life forever. We believe that unless we are impacted in our spirits by Jesus, we do not change the true course of our lives. That is to say, we simply cannot add Jesus to our lives, adding some type of Christian behavior, however, living with the same goals, ambitions, or plans that we always had. The very course or purpose of Saul’s life was changed completely forever, even his name was made different. Nothing of the old remained, he was made a new person in Jesus. Should that not always happen, when we meet Jesus? We have changed, we are being transformed into His likeness, with ever-increasing glory. One day we will be changed in a twinkling of an eye, but for now, because we have encountered Jesus, we will never be the same.