A Glorious NightNäide

Saul of Tarsus, a.k.a. Paul, has one of the most famous conversion stories in the Bible, and in all Christian history, for that matter. As many know, he went from being a persecutor of the church to being its most prolific apostle and a diehard missionary. His heart toward Jesus was changed when the Lord spoke to Him on the road to Damascus. He set aside his arrest papers and humbly joined the movement he had tried to destroy.

Experiencing Jesus really does change everything. However, that doesn’t mean that all that came before in our lives needs to be thrown in the trash. In fact, God will use it! In Paul’s case, he had been a Pharisee and a student of the renowned rabbi Gamaliel, a brilliant Old Testament scholar. Paul was also a Roman citizen and had grown up in a Gentile city. That background, when applied to his new love for Jesus, equipped him to write Romans, Galatians, and other letters that reveal the roots of the gospel in the Bible. It also prepared him to be the apostle to the Gentiles, planting churches throughout the Greco-Roman world. Paul’s past wasn’t wasted.

Like Paul, Jesus will change you, but He won’t waste a single thing about you. If you are willing, He will use it all for His glory.