Jesus Transformed Paul's Villainy into Grace-Sharing Mission
Daily Scripture
Acts 26:8-19
8 Why is it inconceivable to you that God raises the dead?
9 “I really thought that I ought to oppose the name of Jesus the Nazarene in every way possible. 10 And that’s exactly what I did in Jerusalem. I locked up many of God’s holy people in prison under the authority of the chief priests. When they were condemned to death, I voted against them. 11 In one synagogue after another—indeed, in all the synagogues—I would often torture them, compelling them to slander God. My rage bordered on the hysterical as I pursued them, even to foreign cities.
12 “On one such journey, I was going to Damascus with the full authority of the chief priests. 13 While on the road at midday, King Agrippa, I saw a light from heaven shining around me and my traveling companions. That light was brighter than the sun. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice that said to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you harassing me? It’s hard for you to kick against a spear’ [or goads]. 15 Then I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are harassing. 16 Get up! Stand on your feet! I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you as my servant and witness of what you have seen and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you 18 to open their eyes. Then they can turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, and receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are made holy by faith in me.’
19 “So, King Agrippa, I wasn’t disobedient to that heavenly vision.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
The apostle Paul, on trial before King Agrippa II, gave a gripping personal testimony about his own transformation from villain to saint. He recognized openly his history of trying to violently wipe out the young Christian community. But he was also clear about the divine commission Jesus gave him: “to appoint you as my servant and witness of what you have seen.” That encounter changed Paul and fired in him a mission to bring that change to as many other people as possible.
- The question Paul posed in Acts 26:8 to King Agrippa and Roman governor Festus is still basic for Christian witness: “Why is it inconceivable to you that God raises the dead?” Paul’s primary focus was on Jesus’ resurrection, but his testimony also showed that his shift from the dead-end task of trying to stifle God’s saving work to a living faith grew from the same divine power. Can you trust as strongly in God’s transforming power as Paul did?
- It’s easy to miss, but in Despicable Me 4 Gru did something similar to Paul by changing Maxime Le Mal from enemy to karaoke partner. “Paul here insists, in Acts 26:18, that the gospel will open the eyes of the Gentiles, turning them from darkness to light, and from the satan’s power to God’s power, so that by faith in Jesus they may receive the double blessing–forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among the sanctified.” * Who might you influence to turn from darkness to light?
Prayer
Lord God, your love and grace transformed Saul the Pharisee, scourge of Jerusalem and parts beyond, into the apostle Paul, indomitable sharer of love and grace. Shape me into the person you call me to be. Amen.
GPS Insights
Leah Swank-Miller
Leah Swank-Miller, who serves as Pastor of Care and Director of Student Ministries at Resurrection Overland Park, wrote today's Insights. A Kansas native, she has been a professional actress for nearly two decades, and she loves to see the vastness of God’s creation through theatre and the arts. Leah graduated with an M. Div. from Saint Paul School of Theology. Leah, Brian, and their two children love to play tennis, golf, soccer, and board games.
What do a high school student, a single mother with three kids experiencing homelessness, a youth pastor, and an ex-convict turned preacher have in common? The answer may surprise you. I’m serving at Haywood Street United Methodist Church in Asheville, North Carolina, with 80 of our Resurrection high school students, staff, and mentors on a summer serve trip. We are engaging in an open table meal with the community. The neighbors and congregants comprise all walks of life, including those experiencing homelessness and recovery from addiction. The congregation‘s motto is Relationship, Above All Else. Haywood Street UMC church has set out to be a community that favors the city’s outskirts, lavishes the dinner table with folded napkins and flower bouquets, and prioritizes an individual’s inherent worth over their status.
They seek to subvert the divisive labels “us” and “them” by inviting all to experience preparing the table and all to experience sitting at the table. Everything is informed by understanding Jesus’ ministry as fundamentally counterintuitive to culture.
So here we are, seated together for lunch, breaking bread together, passing the salad bowl and water cups. We share our story, and we see our commonality. We all need God’s grace and forgiveness, and have been transformed by God’s healing love. Maybe our transformations look different from one another, but the presence of God’s grace in our lives remains the same. And that kind of unconditional love is life-changing. Sitting eye level with people of all walks of life, sharing our stories and knowing we are all changed by the grace of God, bonds us.
When I think of Paul’s transformation and how it motivated him to help transform the world around him, I keep comparing his old life to the new one. Because the world is most deeply transformed not by force, but by the quiet revolution of the heart. When we are inwardly transformed—when peace, compassion, and integrity take root within us—our actions begin to carry a different weight. Real change in the world starts with what’s going on inside us. When we get honest with ourselves, allow God to work through our stuff, and start living with more kindness, compassion, and grace, it shows. We move through the world differently. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being real and rooted. That kind of inner shift? It spreads. Quietly, but powerfully.
This kind of inward grace doesn’t ignore injustice or suffering—it meets it with clarity and courage, but without replicating the same cycles of fear or control. In transforming ourselves, we become vessels through which the world is changed. And we do it together.
For the record, the transformation of God’s grace wasn’t the only thing we four had in common; we all agreed that homemade hot rolls made from scratch are the best!
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Wright, N. T., The Challenge of Acts: Rediscovering What the Church Was and Is (p. 147). Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.
