Acts 9:1-20 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.  As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.  “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.  Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.  In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered.  The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.  In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.  And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 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.  I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord– Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here– has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.  At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

Saul was zealous and passionate in his service for the Lord. But Saul started out on the wrong side. He was present at the stoning of Stephen. He worked to destroy the church. He instigated widespread persecution by looking for Christians in Damascus to take back to Jerusalem. But something happened on the way. He was converted by God and led to the truth of Jesus Christ as the Savior. With the same zeal he had used in persecuting the Church, he now worked fervently to serve his Lord.

Sometimes passion is misdirected. Maybe you have heard of Dr. Jean Garton. She was the wife of a Lutheran Pastor, who found herself with an unwanted pregnancy at age 40. This was prior to Roe vs. Wade, so she did not have the legal option of an abortion. This angered her, so she joined a pro-choice activist group. She was convinced that women should have the option of abortion. One day, preparing a presentation for medical students, she viewed a slide of a dissected abortion victim, aged 2 & 1/2 months gestation. All of a sudden she heard her three-year-old son, the one whose pregnancy led her to become an abortion advocate. He had slipped into the room without her knowing it and saw the slide. He asked, “Who broke the baby?” That was her turning point. She was converted. She realized the terrible wrong that abortion is, so much so that she became a leader in the pro-life movement. She was co-founder of Lutherans for Life and a crusader in the cause. The same zeal she once put into abortion advocacy went to work to preserve God’s gift of life. Zeal, pointed in the right direction, is a tremendous asset.

God wants His people, the followers of Jesus, to be zealous in telling others about our Savior. They need to know He died and rose for them, too. It is only through faith in Jesus that people will receive the forgiveness and life that He earned for them. May our zeal be pointed in the right direction!