A Moment Away
March 29
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing murderous threats against the
Lord’s disciples.
Acts 9:1
Ben had lived a rough life. As a matter of fact, he was still living a rough life.
Six feet two inches tall, two hundred forty pounds of solid muscle, Ben
was an oil-field roustabout, making his living wrestling thirty-foot joints of
steel pipe and pumping oil wells in the dead middle of winter. He was strong
and seasoned. He was also opinionated as far as things related to the God of
the Bible. Quick witted, he always made a derogatory comment when anyone
mentioned God or Jesus, saying things like, “God is an excuse for weak people
who can’t make it on their own!”
A friend once asked Ben what he thought he might say to God when he
found himself standing before him on the day of his death. He contemptuously
answered, “Why, I’m gonna ask Him, ‘Where’s the best fishin’ hole?’” Continu-
ing to pray, this friend never gave up on Ben. He constantly spoke to Ben about
God’s love, praying God would draw him into a saving relationship, perhaps on
his own road to Damascus, like Saul. And after thirty years of witnessing, and
interceding on Ben’s behalf, on a warm summer’s morning Ben invited Jesus
into his heart!
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At times we may be tempted to give up on those who seem to have too rough
an exterior toward the things of God. Tired of their rhetoric, we’re tempted to
distance ourselves from their unseemly actions.
Saul’s story gives us hope. One moment he was cursing the kingdom, the
next he was serving the King. Not everyone who rails against God, breathing
murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples, will be changed. But we are
not to give up on them. They might be a moment away from nearing their
Damascus.
Do you know someone like Ben? If so, ask God for another measure of the
grace you were saved by and then extend it to the Ben God placed in your life.
Prayer
“God of grace, give us strength. Show us what the hard cases of
life look like to You. Grant us wisdom to know what to say and
then give us the courage to speak in love. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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