Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.

As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.

And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink. (Acts 9:1-9)

Evil triumphs when good men stand by and do nothing. Sometimes it appears to triumph when bad men stand by. Saul was his Hebrew name; Paul was his Greek name. They were used interchangeably, depending on the language he was using. Saul had stood by and watched the execution of Stephen with approval. He then did everything he could to exterminate Christianity.

When Jesus confronted Paul on his way to Damascus, he did not ask Paul why he was persecuting Christians. Instead, Jesus asked Paul why he was persecuting him. The church is called the body of Christ. It is also called the bride of Christ. How much does Jesus love us? Like he loves his own body, because we really are one with him.

When Paul asked his own question, he demonstrated that he already knew its answer. He called Jesus “Lord.” Paul wasn’t being polite. When a Jew said “Lord,” it could mean only one thing: God.

Paul knew he was talking to God. And soon he learned that God also went by the name Jesus. Paul immediately repented of his entire life. Everything before that bright shining moment in Jesus’ presence became meaningless to him. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, every Christian’s life has been just as radically transformed by the presence of Jesus as Paul’s was in that instant.

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