The Damascus Road Part Two

"Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him"                       Acts 9:23.  NKJV

There's a well-known saying, 'What goes around, comes around,' basically, what you sow you will reap; and Saul was certainly reaping this. Immediately after his conversation, he had started preaching in the synagogue in Damascus. This would have been the same one that Stephen had preached in (Acts 6:9). The people, seeing Saul in the pulpit after what he had done, were amazed, confused and angry and plotted to kill him. It became so bad that some of the disciples had to let him down the wall in a large basket so that he could escape to Jerusalem, where the same thing happened after he disputed against the Hellenists - the Greek speaking Jews. Eventually he ended up in Tarsus.

You can't sow bad stuff and expect people to be welcoming towards you. People remember and it takes them sometime to forget - some never do. Through Saul's earlier beliefs and actions towards the believers, he had made enemies. When he began doing exactly opposite, he made even more. Even the disciples in Jerusalem were weary of him until Barnabas stood up for him and told them exactly what had happened at his conversion. After this, they began to accept him, but some still would have had doubts.

It's no different today. If we have a bad past and then become a Christian, there will always be someone who will remember and point the finger. It's the same when as a Christian you throw a wobbly, totally blowing your witness. This may be in the house or some public place. Afterwards, you go about asking God and other people to forgive you about a hundred times because of the guilt that you feel. It can be anything; you could have had an argument with someone and finally told them some home-truths. Or you may have drunk that extra glass of wine that you know you shouldn't have, and POW, you have blown it. It happens, even though it shouldn't. But we're human; we make mistakes - sometimes big ones. When we ask God to forgive us, He does - the first time. There's no need to keep asking Him. People are different, some take ages to forgive others forgive straightaway. We're all different.

The thing is, there will always be someone who may make you feel uncomfortable about what you've done. You may be preaching and catch their eye - staring at you. You may be in a prayer group, taking communion or just doing your shopping but that one person will be around, making you feel guilty. Actually, the guilt is more likely to be coming from yourself, not them. This person may just be a trigger to your own guiltiness.

Whatever you've done, be like Saul. He received God's forgiveness and pressed on doing things right this time. He would have made mistakes, of course he would, but he was sold out for Jesus. Whatever he'd done, nothing was going to stop him. And it shouldn't stop you either.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com