The conversion of Saul overshadows several other key events in today’s reading. I want to make sure that I don’t miss the significance of them in my meditation.
Something to consider this morning as you read about Saul’s conversion experience: we have widely accepted that in order to become a “Christian” you must repent of your sins and request that God forgive you. Generally that is preceded by someone teaching us, or witnessing to us…or maybe by our reading something that gets us thinking about Jesus. And usually it’s a progressive work, where we hear, consider and then after a period of time, choose to accept Christ. If Saul did any of those things it was on an accelerated scale. Saul wasn’t looking for Jesus, Jesus was looking for Saul. Actually, none of us accept Christ because it was “our idea”. If it weren’t for the Holy Spirit no one would even think they were doing anything wrong, let alone confess their sins. What happened to Saul on a grand scale actually happens to all of us in a less visible way.
Why would God offer Saul a chance to repent and serve Him? I mean, clearly this guy has burned all his bridges behind him. He is actively seeking out followers of Jesus and having them put to death. It’s like he has some personal “axe to grind” with Christians. It’s as if their belief is somehow insulting him personally and making it difficult for him to worship in his own way. I’ll bet that I would have written him off and begun looking for someone more promising.
Luckily for us Jesus is more patient and compassionate than me. There’s something comforting about knowing that God is actively looking for us. That’s what Jesus was speaking of when He said the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep in safe pasture and goes in search of the lost sheep. In that same passage it speaks of a homeowner searching for a lost coin, and father searching for a lost son. God is active in His concern for us.
I find that I don’t have much to say about Peter healing Aeneas and raising Dorcas except that it demonstrates that God’s power is capable of moving through His disciples. If miracles like this could happen through Peter, then the same thing can happen through us, because the same Holy Spirit infills every believer. If we cannot do these things it must have something to do with either a lack of faith, or an inability to hear God speaking to us, and telling us what He wants to do.
There will be many opportunities to talk about Saul in the days ahead, since a large portion of the New Testament consists of his writings. Peter is popular as well, and in today’s reading he encounters the Roman army captain. This passage reminds us that Jesus came for all races, not just the Jews. Peter is sees a sheet with “unclean” animals and is being told to “eat”. Under the old law that is unthinkable…but under the new covenant, the one Jesus just put into place, there are no “unclean” races of people. Until now the Jews were the chosen people, and everyone else was simply out of luck…at least that’s the way the Jews saw it. Jesus never had that in mind. Here he is showing Peter that the message should be shared with everyone, and that the Holy Spirit will enter into anyone who is willing, regardless of race.
Faithfully,
PR