Crossroads - Acts 22:1-16

“‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied.” Acts 22:8 (NIV)

Before the Apostle Paul was dramatically converted on the road to Damascus, he was fanatically devoted to God. He zealously wanted to serve God fully by getting rid of any threats or imposters who were tarnishing his faith. This caused Paul, who was known as Saul at the time, to mercilessly hunt down men and women who professed to be Christians, in order to detain them in prison and make them pay for their crimes against God and His chosen people. Wherever he found dissent, Saul eradicated it quickly; whoever was known to be a disciple of Christ was brought before the authorities and cast into jail. The future apostle also gave his strident assent to the stoning and killing of Christian leaders. His zeal knew no compassion; his audacity knew no bounds; his fanatic faith was vehemently unleashed.

And then Jesus intervened, completely changing Saul’s life forever. On the road to Damascus, the Lord confronted Saul and rebuked him for persecuting Christ Himself. Whatever Saul thought he was doing faithfully for God, he was actually doing for himself and attacking Jesus personally. Saul’s self-righteousness rejected any self-awareness that he was wrong and his pride completely enveloped his sin. Instead of being on God’s side, Saul was actually separating himself from God by zealously attacking his enemies and expressing his faith in ferocious ways. Jesus showed him the truth and turned him away from the self-destructive path he was headed down. Saul’s salvation required him to surrender his pride; his deliverance needed him to turn away from his uncompromising and dangerous zeal.

As Christians, we all want to serve God faithfully and become true disciples of Christ. But we are human and flawed, so sometimes our strong opinions conflict with our Christian beliefs. We struggle with all that Christ expects of us and there are moments when we fail. During those times, Christ will confront us in order to set us back on the path He hopes we will choose to follow. It may not necessarily be a Damascus Road experience (perhaps more of an Emmaus Road one – Luke 24:13-35), but it will change our lives and reshape our faith forever.

Point to ponder

Am I guilty of being religiously zealous instead of being faithfully Christ-like? Have I allowed my pride to cloud my compassion? Am I following Christ’s path or my own?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You know us as we truly are and see all that we do. Forgive us for being led astray by our strong opinions and zealous passion. Help us to filter our thoughts and decisions through Your truth, way, and life. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Come and join us for worship on Sunday mornings at 11:00 AM. You will be made very welcome 😊

Today’s image is one of John’s Communion drawings called ‘Cup19.’ If you would like to view a larger version, click here: Cup19.

Christian devotions: Discretion - Acts 19:30

Acts 19:30       Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. 

In Henry IV, Part One, William Shakespeare had his comic character Falstaff declare the following words: 'The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part I have saved my life.' Ever since then, the phrase has been commonly used by people in the midst of conflict to apply common sense, in order to avoid escalating any further trouble. To some people, this seems cowardly and ineffective, but to those who have the gift of discernment, this is really the best choice in potentially high risk conflagrations.

The apostle Paul had to be taught this lesson the hard way. His zeal was almost his downfall when riots began in Ephesus over his teaching. An ugly mob began protesting about the success of his ministry which directly affected silversmiths and other tradesmen. At the height of the riot, Paul wanted to stand before the crowd and possibly preach a message about Christ, but his friends and the other disciples in Ephesus would not let him do this. Unlike Paul, they knew that the crowd would have killed him. They decided to restrain the apostle and prevent him from going anywhere near the hostile mob. Discretion was, indeed, the better part of valor, and it certainly saved his life at this moment in time.

There have been moments in my ministry when I have allowed zeal and self-righteousness to cloud my vision as a preacher and teacher. However, the older I get, the more I understand that being passionate about Christ is not the same as being pastoral for Christ. Discernment and discretion connect more with seekers and servants of Christ than religious self-righteousness. It’s taken me years to understand this, but hopefully it’s not too late to live what I have learned.

I wonder if Paul was initially outraged by his friends’ intervention? Probably so, but perhaps he also learned the greater lesson that self-righteous zeal was detrimental to the very cause he was preaching and espousing. As Christians, we all need to be aware of the effect that our words and actions, ways and deeds have on the world and society. If we are too full of zeal and self-righteous indignation, we will weaken our witness. If, however, we decide to be discreet, either by turning the other cheek, or displaying humility, we may reach out to a rising generation that has been largely been turned off to self-centered, navel-gazing, and constantly affronted Christianity.

Questions for personal reflection

Have I sometimes allowed my religious zeal to overcome my faithful witness? What has Christ still to teach me about being with other people?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You could have destroyed the world but instead You died for the world. You could have condemned the people of Your time, but instead You allowed them to crucify You. Your humility healed humanity. Your sacrifice saved our souls. Teach us these truths and help us to share them honestly, prayerfully, and discreetly. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment or ask questions about today’s message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s 2013 Pentecost series of drawings. It’s called “Pentecost Dawn.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8086/8499310448_1dfb37c6fc_b.jpg