Acts 22:19-21
19And I said, “Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.” 21Then he said to me, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”
When Paul was still Saul, he actively persecuted those who believed in Jesus. We say that and it sort of makes it sound pretty -- he persecuted them doesn't always convey exactly what he did. But by his own testimony he held the coats of those who stoned Stephen, which isn't very pretty at all.
Saul's conversion is a powerful story -- a story that highlights redemption for anyone who thinks that they're "too bad" to follow Jesus. Even the one who held the coats of stone-throwers and who cheered them on is hand-picked to do God's work.
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
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