2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Yesterday, God led me to write about the responsibilities of a covenant relationship for mankind and for God, using stories from the life of David that demonstrate them. David’s struggles with Saul and his friendship involving a covenant with Saul’s son, Jonathan show us that we must not enter into covenants lightly and must follow God’s example in keeping our covenant promises. Today, I am led to write about another Saul, Saul of Tarsus, who lived at the time of the early Christian church, many years after King Saul. Of all the people in the Scriptures, it is to Saul of Tarsus that I can relate best. Like him, I began my early life with little interest in spiritual matters and in rebellion against both my parents and God. While my ministry is nowhere as important as that of the apostle Paul, the story of how Jesus Christ brought the miracle of faith into his life touches me deeply, because of certain parallels with how our loving Abba brought faith and a commitment to serve him into my own life. One thing upon which we can all agree is that God has the power to identify those who will be his servants even when humans would never recognize that in a person.
We first hear about Saul of Tarsus in AC 7: 57-8: 1a, when he is a member of the Sanhedrin and is about 30 years old. Stephen is described [in AC 6: 8] as “a man richly blessed by God and full of power, performing great miracles and wonders among the people.” Stephen was seized by the Sanhadrin [Council of Jewish religious and civil leaders] for this activity which stirred up the elders and teachers of the Law. He spoke eloquently before the Council criticizing them for resisting the Holy Spirit and for allowing God’s Servant to be killed. This inflamed the members of the Council to the point where they all “rushed at him at once, threw him out of the city, and stoned him to death” [AC 7: 57-58a]. AC 7: 57b-8: 1a, “The witnesses left their cloaks in the care of a young man named Saul [of Tarsus]. They kept on stoning Stephen as he called out to the Lord, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!’ He knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord! Do not remember this sin against them!’ he said and then died. And Saul approved of his murder.” It is well known that Saul’s job on the Sanhedrin was to go out and find former traditional Jews who had accepted Christ and bring them back for punishment by the Sanhedrin. He most assuredly at this time in his life rejected Christ’s deity and persecuted those who did not.
Sadly, I was raised in a household which rejected Christ as God’s Son and taught that the best thing a Jew can do is to hold themselves separate from the Christians around them, even though the latter were in the majority where I lived. Back in those days, having a ghetto mentality was considered acceptable. People of different nationalities, races, and religions lived separate and apart from each other, having little to do with each other. My own rebellion was against both my parents for trying to impress their will upon me and against God, because I simply didn’t want to know Him. I was stubborn and wholly immature. Saul of Tarsus thought he was doing the right thing in his service to the Sanhedrin.
The story of Saul’s conversion was much more dramatic and important than mine. Both conversions were God’s will and were miracles. AC 9: 1-7, “In the meantime Saul kept up his violent threats of murder against the followers of the Lord. He went to the High Priest and asked for letter of introduction to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he should there any followers of the Way of the Lord, he would be able to arrest them, both men and women, and bring them to Jerusalem. As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute Me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ he asked. ‘I am Jesus, Whom you persecute,’ the voice answered. ‘But get up and go into the city where you will be told what you must do.’ The men who were traveling with Saul had stopped, not saying a word; they heard the voice but could not see anyone.” We all know that when Saul got up from the ground, he was unable to see. He was led to Damascus and was not able to eat or drink anything for three days. We really learn the purpose of all of this in AC 9: 15-16, “The Lord said to him [Ananias, a Jewish believer], ‘Go [to Saul of Tarsus], because I have chosen him to serve Me, to make My name known to Gentiles and kings and to the people of Israel. And I Myself will show him that he must suffer for My sake.’”
Anyone who spreads the Gospel of Jesus Christ to aid the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing people to faith is doing something important. That same can be said of people who suffer for Christ’s sake. Paul’s enormous contributions in this area far and away outstrip anything that I have done in that pursuit. Our Lord and Savior commissioned us as believers in Him to spread the Gospel in the great commission [MT 28: 19-20] because He wants to bring as many people as possible into the extraordinary supernatural relationship that is the Covenant of Grace. Paul was privileged to be such a wonderful servant for Christ. In my own small way, I feel privileged too, as we all should who spread the faith. Meditate on how we, in our individual lives, can take up the great commission and bring others, by the Holy Spirit, under the protection of the Covenant of Grace.
PRAYER: O Lord, because of Your superior perspective and omniscience, You can see who will make a good servant for You so much better than any human can. We should never judge the choices You make or question them for that reason. In Moses, you picked a man with a speech impediment. In Jeremiah, You picked a youth who thought he was too young. In David, You picked a man who had the blood of war on his hands and a history of adultery and murder. In Matthew, you picked a hated tax collector. In Saul of Tarsus, You picked a persecutor of those who believe in You. Who are we to question Your choices when all these seemingly unlikely people served You so well? We were left with the great commission mentioned above, so that even the most ordinary of us were invited to be Your servants and to bring faith through the Holy Spirit to others. That You gave any person faith is a miracle borne out of Your profound love for Your creation. What a privilege it is to serve You, Dearest Abba! We can truly appreciate the power for good that You bring to our lives by inwardly transforming us by the renewal of our minds. For that and so much more, especially for the sacrifice of Your Son on the cross, we humbly offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, glory, honor, trust, obedience, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, I am led to write about the rewards of participation in the Covenant of Grace and the punishment to those who reject it. Any monopleuric covenant in which God is the stronger partner must be taken seriously with the understanding that blessings come from keeping it and negative consequences come from not keeping it. We must understand that God never calls us to a covenant relationship with Him without a righteous agenda that is in our best interests. His love for us is far deeper than we can understand. That is why we are so blessed when we place our trust in Him. God loves each of you and so do Peter and I.
Grace Be Yours Always,
Lynn