Saints: Enjoying Jesus While Disillusioned With ReligionНамуна

Regaining Clarity When You’re Blinded by Passion

If you ask my nine-year-old son why he likes the book of Acts, he’ll tell you it’s because a lot of people go to jail. He’s not wrong.

The book of Acts details the growth of the early church and the inevitable opposition they faced for suggesting that Jesus, not Caesar, is Lord. And while jail time is a common theme in the book of Acts, going to jail was one of the least severe forms of resistance the disciples faced. Threats of physical violence and even death were ever present.

One of the most zealous persecutors of the early church was a man named Saul, who we know through most of the rest of the New Testament as Paul. Paul was one of the Pharisees, the elite religious group of Jewish men best known for their careful interpretations of the law of Moses.

In resorting to violence, Paul was in the minority of Pharisees. He represents not all Pharisees and all Jews but rather those bad apples in a group who are willing to justify the means by the end.

Convinced that faith in Jesus was leading people astray—and being singularly devoted to righteous living and finding ways to help others live righteously himself—Paul was outraged at what Christians were doing. What began as vigilance to follow the Law of God, to honor God with his whole life, turned into spiritual blindness with destructive consequences.

Paul’s obsession with rooting out the “lie” that Jesus was Lord turned him into a religious terrorist blinded by passion. He was so distracted by a potential threat to truth, he almost missed Messiah Jesus––the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).

My son makes a good point about the book of Acts: A lot of people do go to jail. But a lot of people also get set free. And Paul is one of them. If you need more freedom in your life, this is for you.

Take the theme of blindness, for example. Paul was mentally blinded by religious zeal and then physically blinded by Jesus’ presence. But God opens eyes. Paul couldn’t see, but God gave him a vision of his future.

This point in Paul’s story brought me great comfort as I considered all the ways I may be unaware of what God is doing in my life. When my eyes fail me, when my perspective is darkened by my sin, I can be confident of this: Jesus has the power to illuminate my understanding and give me a vision of the future. Nothing can keep Jesus from showing each of us the way of truth.

What a beautiful hope we all have in Christ. Even if our lives before Christ were filled with antagonism, our past behavior doesn’t have to define our current relationships. In Christ, our siblingship is based on common grace. You’ve received it. I’ve received it. And together, we share a connection that cannot be broken.

Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for the stunning hope I have in you. Because of your mercy and love, my past sin does not have to be the theme of my present or future. In you, I am welcomed and made whole. Amen.