The Essential JesusSample

Angry Young Man

PRAY: Heavenly Father, I ask that you enable me to see one or two things I can do to draw closer to you.

READ: Acts 9:1-19

REFLECT: Saul was an angry young man (Acts 7:58). He hated Christians (Acts 9:1) and tracked them down to throw them into prison (v. 2). So much for religious tolerance. But Saul's vendetta raises an interesting question: Why does Jesus make some people so mad? For some it has to do with their unwillingness to give up a particular lifestyle. Others feel they've been betrayed by a Christian loved one. Still others can't accept Jesus' claim to be the only way to God (John 14:6).

But often, all of these reactions are a smoke screen for a deeper issue: External anger at Jesus can be a clue that an internal spiritual struggle is going on. That seems to be the case with Saul. There was no question about his passion for God. Elsewhere in the Bible we learn that he devoted his life to Judaism; he was a model Pharisee (Acts 23:6; 2 Corinthians 11:21-22). But when Saul literally "saw the light," it burned off all his anger. He still had questions (Acts 9:5), but until he let go of the anger he couldn't hear the answers. That's true for us as well.

I've heard some Christians apologize for the fact that "my testimony is not that dramatic," as if the only way to be truly converted is to get knocked to the ground and to hear the voice of Jesus. Sometimes conversion is immediate and dramatic, and we can thank God for the times he chooses to work that way.

But more often, conversion is a gradual process where a person comes to faith in Jesus over time. Even Saul's conversion demonstrates this: he grew up in a religious environment, developed a passion for God, had a dramatic encounter with Jesus, but then received support from the Christian community in Damascus (vv. 17-19). It took all these steps to transform the angry young man into God's chosen instrument who could preach that Jesus is the Son of God (vv. 15, 20).

APPLY: What is the next step you could take in your relationship with Jesus?

PRAY: Ask Jesus for the courage to take next step in your relationship with him.