Galatians 1:23-24 They only heard it said, ‘The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.’ And they glorified God because of me.
Paul, you may remember, used to be called Saul. When we was Saul he was the greatest enemy of the church. He persecuted the church, he arrested Christians, he may have been in charge at the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Then, of course, he had his conversion experience, got a new name and became a Christian leader.
What's interesting to me in the verses above is the response of the church leaders - his former enemies. Before they even met him and examined him for themselves, they heard about his conversion and his preaching. "And they glorified God because of" him. Wow. How would you act if someone who has caused a lot of problems for you suddenly seemed to be on your side? Would you embrace that person and thank God because of them? Or would you suspect them of some deeper treachery? Would you suspect some kind of "Trojan horse" attack?
Perhaps we have trouble believing that God can do the kind of major changes in people's lives that the early Christian leaders saw. Perhaps we've lowered our expectations of what God is capable of doing.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Remember to join us this Sunday before the big game: 9 am Education Hour, 10 am ONE worship service, 11 am Congregational Meeting with lunch to follow.
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