Acts 9:27 – But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way…
Paul used to be Saul; that is, before he met the Lord. He was a religious zealot, a Pharisee of the strictest order. He hunted down Christians and had them put to death. To him they were heretics and guilty of blaspheming God.
One day everything changed for Saul. While on his way to Damascus to hunt down Christians, Jesus Christ appeared to him. Seeing Christ changed his life forever.
He saw Jesus Christ as Saviour. At that very moment he was convinced that Jesus Christ was who Christians claimed that He was: the Son of God who died and rose again from the dead. His zeal had been misplaced. He was wrong. He was also convicted of his sin (vs. 5). He had been kicking against his conscience every time he had a Christian executed. The face of Stephen praying for his tormentors was forever sketched in his memory. He now knew that his sin wasn’t just against men, but against Jesus Himself. He was instantly converted! “Grace had taught his heart to fear” and he would never be the same again.
He also saw Jesus Christ as Sovereign. He said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” His fear lead him to acknowledge this fact and his faith helped him be willing to serve. Then he followed what the Lord said, even though it was a small step to a greater life, one that Saul never would have believed possible!
Have you seen Jesus Christ as your Saviour? Has there been a time in your life when you were converted, when you “passed from death unto life” (John 5:24)? If so, as a Christian do you see Him as Sovereign; as the Lord of your life? Are you willing to pray, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
Our lives will be different if we would only see Christ!