(15) Marks of a Changed Person

Imagine standing in front of a window near the top of a tall building. You can see miles of the city below you. From this vantage point you can make better sense of the layout of the streets and neighborhoods. You see a big picture. But in the window you can also see your own reflection as in a mirror. Through the same glass you can see across a vast space and have a look back at yourself.

Acts 9 is a bit like that. Saul's conversion is vital to the big story of God's spread of the gospel. Without this chapter the book of Acts makes little sense. How did the man who was "ravaging the church" (8:2) become the missionary to the gentiles? How do we get, in the course of 30 verses, from Saul "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord" to the church having peace and being built up, with the believers walking in the comfort of the Spirit? (9:1, 31). This chapter is a window into God's missionary movement. But Acts 9 is also a mirror. It helps us look back at ourselves and see how our experience with God relates to Saul's experience with God. And the faithful today have more in common with converted Saul than we might think.