ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS

   "And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, and if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus:  and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:  and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?  And he said, Who art thou, Lord?  And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:   it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me do?  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do."  (Acts 9: 1-6)
   The conversion of Saul was no small matter as the Lord knocked Saul off his horse to get his attention.  After that, the Lord changed Saul's name to Paul and he became an apostle to Christ, a missionary for the rest of his life, and he also wrote thirteen books of the Bible.
   Like Paul, all of us are on horses going to Somewhere on the roads of our lives.  Mostly, we are living for today, not concerned about the future, but doing as we choose to do to please ourselves, to fill our own schedules in our trivial pursuits of life, none of which will have much meaning in the lives of others after we die.
   On the road to Damascus, Paul was interested in Paul.  Paul had his schedule to keep.  Paul was on his way to capture and persecute people for believing in Christ as Paul was doing as Paul wanted to do.
   Paul was highly educated.  Paul had a legal mind.  But after meeting Christ, Paul's legal mind became a mind of love and grace, which is reflected in the thirteen epistles that he wrote. 
   God has plans for people, and God had a plan for Paul, just as God has a plan for you and me.
   You and I will never write a book that will be in the Bible; however, you and I can write something with our lives devoted to Christ, which can be something as simple as Christ's reflection in our lives.  We may never write a book, write or sing a song, or preach a sermon that could be heard by hundreds or thousands of people.
   On the other hand, we do not know the plans God has for people.  Therefore, you could just be that person that God could call to write a book, write or sing a song, or preach a sermon to hundreds or thousands of people.
   Have you ever stopped to think about God?
   Have you ever thought about asking God if there is more to your life than simply living and dying on the earth---with the hope that people will say some nice words about you at your funeral?
   Is that it?  Is that all to living?  Is the only person you are interested in is you?
   On the road to Damascus, Paul was interested in Paul.  But when he met Christ, he became interested in the lives of hundreds and hundreds of people.
   You are invited to read the thirteen epistles of Paul in the New Testament of the Bible and see how one man's conversion touched the lives of people; and because of his writings, Paul's life is still touching people to this day because of Christ living in him.  Therefore, Paul wrote:
      "I am crucified with Christ:  nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:  and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."  (Galatians 2: 20)