Have you ever lost hope for someone?
But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Acts 8:3
Merciful God,
How good it is to read straight through the Bible
because we return to radical redemption stories
we might otherwise forget.
This past week my reading took me back to this short paragraph
about the persecution of the early church
by a “Pharisee of Pharisees”
who would soon become the apostle Paul,
the man who wrote much of the New Testament.
Show us through the true story of a man like Paul
just how revolutionary the change in us,
the change in others is,
through the work of your Holy Spirit.
A murderer becomes a missionary.
An addict becomes your adorer.
A grump becomes a gracious grandpa.
A sourpuss becomes a sweet servant.
Transforming Lord,
give us a glimpse of what we might have become
if we were not united with Christ
so that we might have hope
for those we might otherwise dismiss as hopeless.
Show us the “Sauls” in our lives,
that we may pray for them,
that we may go to them,
that they might have a life-changing encounter
with Jesus.
And while you’re at it,
would you please give us a glimpse of the glory
that awaits us
when we see Jesus face to face
and are truly made like him?
In Jesus’ transforming name. Amen.
Read Acts 8:1-3; Acts 9:1-31.
