Road To Damascus

Road to Damascus
By Árpád Feszty

“As I journeyed to Damascus..., along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness, both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.”
Acts 26:12-16

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In Road to Damascus, we witness a dramatic moment of divine intervention: Saul, a fervent persecutor of Christians, is struck down on the road to Damascus. This sudden encounter with the risen Christ transforms him into Paul, a devoted apostle. The story of Paul’s miraculous conversion teaches us that God is much more interested in the future He has in store for us than He is in our past.

The Lord tells Ananias, who had previously heard “many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people” that Saul, “is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:13-15). Despite his past, Paul is called to be a witness of Christ’s resurrection and to spread the gospel to the world. As Christ’s disciples, we can learn much about humility, fellowship and forgiveness from Ananias’s welcoming greeting to the still-sightless Paul: “Brother Saul, the Lord…has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:17).

Paul’s subsequent transformation illustrates that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace. As he later reflects, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10). His life becomes a testament to the power of divine mercy and the potential for change. Jeffrey R. Holland emphasized that this transformation is ever available to all: “However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed... I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love.”

Paul’s calling also reminds us of our own responsibilities, and the need to forgive ourselves of sins, misdeeds and mistakes that God has already forgiven so that we can participate fully in His plan for us. As disciples, we are invited to bear witness of Christ in our lives, regardless of our past. Thomas S. Monson taught, “Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies.” Through faith and obedience, we too can become instruments in His hands. May we, like Paul, open our hearts and lives to continual transformation and thereby re-commit ourselves to the broader work of the Lord.

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