The Light on the Road

“‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied.” — Acts 9:5

Do you remember Saul, the young man who watched while Stephen died? After that, Saul hated the followers of Jesus more and more. He went from house to house in Jerusalem, dragging men and women off to prison.

But that wasn’t enough for Saul. He went to the high priest and asked for letters to take to the synagogues in the city of Damascus, far away to the north. The letters said that if Saul found anyone there who followed Jesus, he could arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem as prisoners.

So Saul set off for Damascus with some other men.

But as he came near the city, suddenly a light from heaven flashed all around him. It was brighter than the midday sun. Saul fell to the ground.

And he heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

“Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” the voice replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men travelling with Saul stood there, unable to speak. They heard the sound, but they couldn’t see anyone.

Saul got up from the ground. But when he opened his eyes, he couldn’t see anything at all. He was blind! So the men took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.

For three days Saul couldn’t see. And he didn’t eat or drink anything.

Think about what Jesus said: “Why are you persecuting Me?” Saul thought he was hurting Christians. But Jesus said Saul was hurting Him. When someone hurts the people who follow Jesus, Jesus feels it as if it were happening to Him. That’s how much He loves His people.

Saul had been so sure he was right. He thought he was serving God by attacking the followers of Jesus. But now he knew: Jesus was alive. Jesus was the Lord. And Saul had been fighting against Him.

Saul sat in the dark for three days, with nothing to eat or drink, and with plenty of time to think. Everything he had believed had been turned upside down.

What would happen to him now?

Read it in your Bible: Acts 9:1–9

Dear Jesus, thank you that nobody is too far away for you to reach, not even someone who hates you. Thank you that you love your people so much. Amen.