November 23

Acts 8, 9

Persecution and Preaching
Conversion of Paul

"But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel." ~ Acts 9:16

I've read or heard this passage many times in my life. Today, when I read it, a question came to my mind: Why? Why did God choose Paul? Why did God choose a man whose life mission was to destroy the new Christian church? Why would God choose Paul to spread His word all over the world? I doesn't make sense. If it were up to me, I would have picked one of the eleven disciples, the ones who were with Jesus during His earthly ministry. It doesn't make sense.

But what if the reason God choose Paul wasn't because he was the most qualified for the job. What if He was trying to reveal the power of His grace and love. God took an enemy of His church and turned him into His ambassador. I think God knew that one of the biggest lies that people tend to believe is that their sin is too much for God to forgive. By appointing Paul as His instrument to carry His name to the world, God proved once and for all that no sin is beyond His ability to forgive and no person is beyond the reach of His grace.

The next time you start to think that your sin makes you unworthy of forgiveness, call it what it is: a lie. God has proved time and time again that the power of His grace and love is infinite.