“In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner.
Meaning and purpose were illusive to me in my high school and early college years. I couldn’t find my way in the education or vocation spheres. I had toyed with the idea of being a doctor. But my grades wouldn’t support that idea. I had grown up in a mom and pop motel and talked about going to Cornell University. They have a world-famous hotel management school in Ithaca, New York. But finances and grades precluded that. And let’s not talk about real estate. Except that proved to be the deciding factor.
My Damascus Road conversion was on Interstate 55 in southeast Missouri. There was no flash of lightning. No voice from heaven. Just the voice of God through Jerry. My word of new direction was delivered in a 1966 Ford Fairlane on I-55. “Dave,” said Jerry, “I just think you would be a better pastor than a real estate broker. Some of those reading this will recall this conversation – together with my comment that he could have said I would have been a better fill-in-the-blank than a real estate broker.
But Jerry said, “pastor.” And once I acknowledged that, my life turned around. I had nearly made the bad dean’s list before dropping out of college for a time. And although I did not graduate from college with honors, I would have – had they counted only my last three semesters in that calculations. But I did graduate. From there it was on to seminary, then to Utah, Colorado, Arkansas, and now Texas.
I did’t realize what I was getting myself into at that point. But I had been surviving until that life-changing conversation. Jesus showed me much more. And my life was truly changed. I hadn’t been living in obstinate opposition to Jesus’ ways. But I certainly was not experiencing the fullness of his calling.
I’ve not suffered anything like Paul did during his life as Jesus’ ambassador. He lived out a very unique and challenging calling. He recounts it clearly. Jesus told him, “I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”
Opening eyes, turning people from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, and helping people take their place among those who believe in Jesus is a challenge and an honor. We might shy away from such a high challenge. But here is God’s calling through Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth. Written 5 or 6 years before these events before Agrippa.
Jesus died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised (2 Corinthians 5:15).
Martin Luther wrote about it this way: Jesus…redeemed me…so that I may be his own and live under him in his kingdom and serve him.
Such a life – not living for ourselves, living under Christ, serving him in whatever vocation to which we are called – is much more than surviving. That is the abundant life. That is thriving.
Thrive, by Casting Crowns
David Bahn - Reflections 
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