Acts 8:3-4 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. (4) Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
Saul’s early life was marked by a relentless campaign against the Church, a past that would have led many of us to write him off entirely. But Jesus had a different plan. Through the miraculous events described in Acts 9, the man who once terrorized believers was brought face-to-face with the Truth. This transformation turned Saul the persecutor into Paul the Apostle, the prolific writer behind 48% of the New Testament’s books. It remains a powerful reminder that with God, a person’s history does not necessarily dictate their future.
The verse following Saul’s past speaks volumes. Saul’s persecution of the church caused them to go “abroad”! What did this bring about? God’s word was preached outside of Jerusalem. The Lord sometimes uses persecution to stir the embers of a fire about to go out; or possibly to give a little shove to someone to go outside their comfort zone, and share the saving power of Jesus Christ with others!
As tragic as the early persecution was, it became the fuel for God’s greater plan. The irony is striking: the very man attempting to destroy the Church became the instrument of its expansion. By transforming Saul into Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, God proved that no past is too broken to be used for His purposes. I praise the Lord for this miraculous change, as it opened the door for the Gospel to reach the rest of the world—including me!
