City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Acts 9:1–9

Reflection

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus is one of the most dramatic in history. Paul was not merely a Pharisee; he was a prominent Pharisee who had become one of the most zealous persecutors of Christians. He was not just doing his job in rounding up Christians; Luke describes him as “breathing threats and murder”—essentially raging against Christians. 

And then Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Paul’s question, “Who are you, Lord?” was the right question. Paul first had to discover who Jesus was before he could discover who Paul was.

No one led Paul to the Lord. No one did the God Test or the Four Spiritual Laws with him or engaged in friendship evangelism. Perhaps Stephen got the closest to doing so, and he was stoned to death for his trouble. Either no one could get close enough to him, or no one was willing to, or maybe it wouldn’t have been enough. Maybe it took Jesus appearing to Paul personally for Paul to turn. 

But he did turn, and that he did turn makes for one of the most remarkable stories in history. It’s also some of the best evidence supporting the resurrection. Despite the dramatic and unique character of Paul’s conversion, there is an application in it for us.

Paul was a Pharisee, highly educated, and recognized as excelling amongst his Jewish contemporaries. He considered himself the protector of the true faith. As he would describe it later:

4 If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. — Philippians 3:4–6 

And then in a flash of light and a brief conversation with Jesus he finds out he was wrong about Jesus and wrong about himself. He had to pivot from his identity in his achievements in Judaism to finding his identity in Christ.

I suspect, but I do not know, that that is why Jesus left him blinded for three days after his encounter—three days in darkness to rethink all he had believed about God and himself. Three days for a hard reset and to find his new identity in Christ.

I remember when that happened in my life. It was not nearly so dramatic as it was with Paul. I had been a basketball player my whole life and a standout player in high school. Then I was on to college, where I quickly added fifteen pounds to my 6’1” frame, and became quicker and better defensively. We won conference, and I received a championship ring. 

But a composite floor and repetitive stress on my knees led me to a tough decision. The doctor said I could keep playing and limp for the rest of my life or I could quit college basketball. By the grace of God, I chose the wiser path. But when I did, I immediately felt lost. I no longer knew who I was. 

I know how trivial that sounds compared to what happened to Paul, but it doesn’t make it any less real. Even though I had been a Christian for nearly ten years, I had built my identity around something other than Jesus.

The Lord didn’t strike me blind. Maybe that would have been quicker. Instead, in His gentleness, He sent me Mark Gorman, a student two years my senior but light years older in the Lord, who discipled and taught me what it meant to follow Jesus. And in that process I found out who I was in Christ.

If you had asked me in high school or after that first year of college who I was, I would have said I was a basketball player. If you had asked me when I graduated from college, I would have told you I was a Christian, and that is what I have remained.

Application

After Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was confronted with who Jesus was, and Paul needed to discover who Paul was. It wasn’t an issue about whether all those things Paul said about himself were true—they were. The question was what would define him going forward.

Each one of us has to make a similar decision, and it doesn’t always come at the time of conversion. With some it happens immediately. With others, it’s a process where we replace worldly ideas about who we are and what is important with an identity in Jesus. 

But in the end, there are two questions that must be answered: 1) “Who is Jesus?”; and, 2) “Who are you?”

When you know the answer to those two questions, everything else takes its proper place.

Prayer

Lord, help me always to fully understand what it means to be in Christ. Amen.