Saul of Tarsus held the coats of those who stoned Stephen, the first Christian martyr. He "breathed out murderous threats" against believers. He was cursed by his own religious zeal.
The Damascus Road Encounter
Armed with letters from the high priest, Saul was traveling to Damascus to arrest Christians when a light from heaven blinded him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."
The hunter became the hunted. The persecutor was captured by the one he persecuted. Blinded and helpless, Saul was led into Damascus - not to arrest believers, but to become one.
God Sends Ananias
For three days he sat in darkness, neither eating nor drinking. Then God sent Ananias, a believer Saul had come to arrest. Despite his fear, Ananias laid hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
Scales fell from Saul's eyes. He was baptized immediately. The one who had scattered the church began to build it.
From Persecutor to Apostle Paul
As the apostle Paul, he wrote half the New Testament, planted churches across the Roman Empire, and brought the gospel to the Gentiles. The curse of religious violence was broken. The man who breathed threats began to breathe grace.
No one is too far gone. No persecutor is beyond redemption. The road to Damascus proves it.
