Acts: The Revolution of FaithSample

Cry Uncle

“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.’” Acts 26:15-16

I have an older brother named Don and 99.9% of the time, my big brother was awesome to me. He stood up for me. He protected me. He played with me and always picked me for his team on the neighborhood sandlot baseball game. But then there was that 0.1% of the time he was—how do I say it? He was a little devil.

One of the things we loved to do was to wrestle. But being five years older than me, he always had the advantage. And most of the time, he tempered his strength so to even out the match. But on occasion, particularly when my parents weren't around, he would pin me to the ground, jam his knees into my shoulder, and then take the knuckle of his middle finger and begin tapping it in the center of my chest over and over again.

And he would do it until I said, “Uncle.” Then he would stop. I would last for as long as I could. But eventually, I did it. I cried uncle, and he stopped.

In Acts 8, "Saul began to destroy the church. Going house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them into prison." He was on the road to Damascus one day and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now, get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.” The men traveling with Saul stood speechless after hearing the sound, but not seeing anyone. Saul got up from the ground and he was blind. The men led him by hand into Damascus.

In Damascus, there was a disciple named Ananias. In a vision, the Lord called him to go to a certain house to find Saul.

Ananias had heard many reports about Saul and all the harm he had done to the followers of Christ. He was fearful. Jesus was asking him to surrender, saying, "This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the gentiles, and their kings, and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Ananias went to the home, and placed his hands on Saul saying, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes. And he could see again. He got up and was baptized."

In this moment, Saul cries. He cries, I surrender. Saul, whose name was changed to Paul, would go on to be a key figure in the spreading of the church.

Paul cried uncle to Jesus every day of his life until the very end. He surrendered his will and look what happened. History tells us that Paul was beheaded for his faith in Jesus at the hand of the Roman Empire, but not before he gave witness to the resurrected Jesus.

Like Paul, we are called to share the story of our encounter with Jesus and how it has changed each of our lives. This is the call of God on our lives. The only thing left for us to do is to cry uncle, to surrender our life to the will of God. I invite you to tell Him now. Jesus has you pinned down. His knees are pressed into your shoulders. And He is gently tapping the knuckle of his middle finger into your chest.

Will you finally surrender to his call? If you are ready to surrender, cry out uncle with me. Ready? On the count of three. One, two, three. Uncle. Welcome, my friend to the revolution of faith.

Prayer

Precious Jesus, I surrender my life to you completely. My days are yours. I want to share your amazing love, forgiveness, and sacrifice. Praise your name, Lord Jesus!