“When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
~ Acts 7:58-59
When that young man named Saul finally came to his senses, having had an incredible encounter with the risen Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, the realization of all that he had done in opposing the will of God must have hit him like a ton of bricks. In those three days of blindness after meeting Jesus, Saul had plenty of time to contemplate all the evil that he had done. Surely, his memory of the killing of Stephen had to have been among some of his most frightful images.
No wonder, later in life, Saul (now the Apostle Paul) would write of himself, “I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor…” and, “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all” (I Timothy 1:13 & 15). Paul, while reveling in the loving kindness and forgiveness of the Lord, never lost sight of that former way of life from which he had come; and it kept him forever grateful for God’s grace.
While it may be okay to remember some of the terrible things that we’ve said and done in life—that keeps us humble and grateful—still, it is not okay to dwell on the past or to grovel in guilt and shame. Authentic Christianity is all about the UNWORTHY being made WORTHY through faith in the sacrificial life and death of Jesus our Lord!
~ Phil