Rendezvous With the Resurrected 

Read: Philippians 3:7-11

Had the risen Lord Jesus not apprehend Saul, nothing would have stopped him in his deathly tracts. He was sincere but sincerely wrong. So convinced was he of his beliefs that he was willing to kill for it. But his rendezvous with the Risen on the road to Damascus confronted, converted, and eventually led this zealous man to his commission to the greatest work on earth. 

Originally named Saul after the first king of Israel, Saul was born a Jew and studied as a young man in Jerusalem under Gamaliel, a prestigious teacher among the Pharisees. Saul excelled in Phariseeism, the strictest, most zealous, and well-respected sect of the Jews due to their rigid observance of the Mosaic Law, although such rigidity invited outward morality, self-righteousness, and pride. 

Saul was a Roman citizen, a right he inherited from his father. He was on his way to Damascus in pursuit of early Christians when the risen Jesus confronted Him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Let me just interject here the fact that persecution against the church is persecution against its founder, Christ.) 

This confrontation led to his conversion. Christ became His ultimate pursuit and considered everything else a loss for His sake. His own self-righteousness melted in the grace of God he came to know, realizing that he can never be righteous on his own, no matter how dutiful he obeyed the Law. Christ is every true believer’s righteousness. He resolved to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and to share in His suffering. Eventually, he became a herald of the good news he once sought to silence, a disciple-maker for the One who apprehended him, and a leader of the group he strived to disband. 

Although not in the manner of Paul’s rendezvous with the Resurrected, we, too, have come to know Christ and His love and forgiveness through the gospel handed down to us by His apostle in the end-time. We, too, have been confronted with our own sins and self-righteousness and our own ignorance of God’s will. Many of us were like Paul, sincere but were sincerely wrong. Having been transformed in our hearts and minds, we have come to know the mind of Christ. We thank God for He stopped us in our tracts, and now we are on the path of true and acceptable worship and service unto God. 

So I want to remind you today to be thankful for God’s calling and be encouraged to continue to endure the sufferings associated with our being disciples of Christ. Like the Apostle Paul, let us look forward to the crown of life to be awarded to those who carry the message of the resurrection. 

Reflect:

Think of your life before you were called by Christ. Take the time to compare and contrast your old and your new, born again self. Thank God for calling you to know Him.