Conversion to Christ Jesus is a remarkable event. At one moment we are transformed from darkness to light, from death to life, from lost to saved. The complexity of this transaction challenges each of us who long to understand just what and how this radical change takes place. Thankfully, we do not have to understand the whole of it but, rather, simply enjoy the new life it brings. In short trusting Christ Jesus as Savior is life changing.
The Apostle Paul's conversion story is a good place to begin. Paul was not looking for Jesus. Instead, he was seeking to persecute anyone he could find who testified to this new life in Jesus. His mission was to eliminate as many "people of the way" as he could find.
In Acts 9 we read of his plan to persecute believers in Damascus. "But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem." Acts 9:1-2 ASV
But God had other plans for the man names Saul Paul of Tarsus. While on the road to Damascus, the text tells us, "Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shown around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." vv. 3-5
At that moment the great enemy of the Church became the leading voice for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The persecutor became the promoter of the gospel message that Jesus is the promised Christ who lived, died, and rose again for the forgiveness of sins and the imparting of new life.
Paul never got over this encounter with Jesus. It marked him all the days of his life and it became message he would proclaim across the ancient world. In his Letter to the Ephesians Paul say, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may board. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesian 2:8-10 ESV
The complexities of this transformation may largely be a mystery; but the transformed life cannot be denied. Paul was changed in a moment into an ardent follower of Jesus. This is what God does for each person who comes to Jesus as a repentant sinner seeking forgiveness from sin and new life in Christ.
My story is also what some call "A Damascus Road Conversion." Like Paul, I was harshly opposed to the God, deeply guilty of sin, and separated from God. I was ignorant of my situation until the light of the gospel message shown in my heart. I clearly remember the night I heard the message of salvation through faith in Jesus. I reasoned that this message, if true, has the promise of a new beginning. I had everything to gain and nothing to lose. If it proved not to be true, I would not be worse off. But if true, I would have so much to gain. And I learned by experience that the message was true. I began a new life as a forgiven sinner and new saint in Christ.
Not only did I reason that "if this message is true, I have everything to gain and nothing to lose" but also "If it is worth anything, it is worth everything." This was the best news I ever heard; and I willingly and happily determined to serve God the rest of my life. It is worth everything! That was fifty-seven years ago.
But wait, there's more. Paul, writing well into the mature years of his ministry said, "For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him....that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3: 8b-11 ESV
Paul was still longing for the fulness of God in his life. He knew that salvation from sin was just the beginning and the door to a long life of growth in grace. He says, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus made me his own." vv. 12-13
I prefer the translation in the New International Version, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." v. 12. It Is as if God took Paul by the shoulders and turned him around and put him on a new path of remarkable service for God. Like Paul, I agree with what he went on to say in this passage. "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." vv. 13-15 NIV
Yes, conversion is a great new beginning, but it is not an end nor the full story. It is only the beginning of a glorious life full of promise, hope, purpose, and power. Like Paul, I am pressing on toward the goal. How about you? What is your story? What is your life goal? Make Jesus your Savior and you get all of life thrown in.
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