Afterwards, as we were lying on the ground, I heard someone speak to me in Hebrew, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” You find it difficult to resist the goads. And I exclaimed, “Lord, who are you?” “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,” declared the Lord. Acts 26:14–15
The apostle Paul is mentioned very often in the Bible. He wrote about half of the New Testament Bible books and founded many churches. But this man has not always been a follower of Jesus Christ. On the contrary, he describes how he hated Jesus and persecuted Christians to death, delivering them to prison, commissioned by the religious leaders in Jerusalem. He was a zealous enemy of Jesus. But one day, when Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians there, he met the risen Christ personally! Jesus asked him, “Why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” This encounter changed Paul’s life. It was now clear to him that Jesus was really the Messiah, the Son of God, who had risen from the dead. Paul changed sides and from that moment on his mission was to tell people about the Gospel and to invite them to turn from the power of Satan to God — just as Paul himself had done. He did not just stop fighting against Jesus, but turned into his dedicated apostle.
When Paul “changed sides,” it was evident in his life. In your own life, is this true?
