Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“And immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ All who heard him were amazed and said, ‘Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?’”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, April 21, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Can people really change? I mean, Saul was a bad, bad guy. Can you blame those early Christians for being skeptical when he suddenly showed up preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ?
What of our own experience? How often do we see people who are confronted with their shortcomings simply double down and fight back? Or people who seem to have changed suddenly revert to old behavior, making us wonder if they had ever really changed at all?
I have personally witnessed people changing. Drastically. Utterly. But in every case, it took a complete devastation and spiritual healing experience. The futility of life as they had been living it, and all the pain they had caused themselves and others, had to be fully grasped and owned before they could be open to the kind of healing that truly transforms hearts, minds, and lives.
This is what happened to Saul. Confronted with God directly pointing out his evil ways and striking him blind, Saul finally recognized his wrongs and became willing to be made right. It took being struck blind for Saul to see. But when he saw, he was changed for good.
Do I believe people can truly change? Have I experienced this for myself?
![1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24], God’s Care for the Widow](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/bf37035e-33d5-439f-a0d6-a68b02d0f1bc/24-11-03.jpg)
