Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
What makes a Christian? For some, church membership makes a person a Christian. Others would say their baptism or association with a religion. What made the Saul in our text a Christian? Certainly we would say his faith. But notice that he was not going after God; in fact, he was doing things that God would despise. But just as Saul was “hunting” for Christians to kill, God was “hunting” for Saul, wanting his very soul. And so God appeared to Saul, calling out to him, moving in his life in a very powerful way. It was through this event that Saul found the faith to believe in Christ; Saul’s faith was not the creation of his own heart, but a gift that God gave him through His pursuit of Saul.
What makes us a Christian? We would be correct in saying it’s not our good works or membership that makes us a Christian, but rather it’s our faith in Christ. However, we need to understand that even that faith that we express is a gift from God and is due to His work in our lives.
Dr. David Jeremiah, in his book, “Captured By Grace,” speaks to this when he writes the following: “Men and women who do the pursuing can only capture empty air. Nothing satisfies. This indeed is the definition of religion. What sets apart our Christian faith is the story told in reverse—one of a loving Father who pursues us because we are too foolish and too sin-stained to go to Him. Read the thoughts of all the great people of faith through the ages, and you’ll find that common denominator. God pursued them “down the nights and down the days.” For example, C. S. Lewis writes, “I never had the experience of looking for God. It was the other way round: He was the hunter (or so it seemed to me) and I was the deer. He stalked me … took unerring aim, and fired. And I am very thankful that this is how the first (conscious) meeting occurred. It forearms one against subsequent fears that the whole thing was only wish fulfillment. Something one didn’t wish for can hardly be that.” Saul saw himself as the relentless hunter. Yet he must have begun to realize that he had become the hunted. “All things betray thee, who betrayest Me.”
Through God’s grace He goes after us – He pursues us like a hunter pursues his prize. Today, He goes after us through the circumstances, events and people in our lives, even as we at times run away from Him. Through His grace He never stops pursuing us. On Sunday, we will talk more about this aspect of God’s grace as we continue the sermon series, “Captured By Grace.” Hope to see you then!
