When God Redirects a Rebel
By Jeff Cranston
There are few more radical transformations in Scripture than that of Saul. Saul was traveling on the road to Damascus when, in an instant, he was transformed from a persecutor of the church to one of its greatest champions. Read Acts 9.
In this passage, Saul of Tarsus was at one moment riding high, secure in the impenetrable armor of his iron-clad prejudices, breathing out threats and slaughter. The next moment he is prostrate on the ground in the dust on the road, blinded by a brighter light than perhaps has ever been seen on the planet and listening to the voice of Christ Himself.
Saul was then led by hand the rest of the trip. He was without sight for three days and without food or water for those same 72 hours. God suddenly interrupted Saul’s life, which was on a murderous path, and BY GRACE transformed him into a new man.
Then, there’s a turn in the story. In Acts 9:10-19, Jesus spoke to Ananias in a vision and informed him that he was to go to Saul and place his hands on him so that Saul’s sight would be restored.
At first, Ananias was reluctant to place himself in what he viewed as jeopardy. He knew Saul’s reputation. But, he obeys Jesus and goes to Saul, lays hands on him in prayer, and immediately his sight was restored.
God will take you from here to there.
Saul learned a valuable lesson that we should learn as well, and it’s this: God meets you in the “here” to take you to the “there.” Jesus met Saul on the Damascus road—here—to bring him to salvation—there. Jesus met Ananias in his home—here—to take him to pray over Saul in the home of a man named Judas—there.
What is your here? Here is your present, where you are at right now. It might not be good. It might be challenging. It might be difficult. But God has a “there” in store for you! Keep trusting, keep praying and keep holding on to Jesus. He will take you from whatever here you are experiencing right now, to a place of blessing—your “there.”
No one in this life is beyond salvation.
I hold great respect for those of you who are following Christ faithfully and praying for a family member to be saved. Just as Saul was saved as an example for us, you have been saved for someone as well. For whose sake have you been saved? Don’t stop praying and loving and serving and living authentically. Model the gentle spirit of one who is serving the Savior. And take the opportunities to speak for Christ when they come up.
You too can be saved.
It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or how you’ve been living. You can be, and must be, converted. You may be religious, you may be rebellious, or you might just be a regular person. Any way you shake it out, you need to be saved by Jesus.
Saul’s name was changed to Paul after his conversion—his nature was changed—and so was his name! Later, in his epistles, Paul described salvation in no uncertain terms. You are either a child of light or a child of darkness. You are either in the kingdom of darkness or the kingdom of light. You are saved or lost. You are on the path to paradise or on the highway to hell. It’s time for you today to be saved.
Jeff Cranston is lead pastor of LowCountry Community Church in Bluffton, S.C.