Acts 9:19-25

Acts 9:19-25
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Things can change pretty quickly.  One day, Saul is ready to arrest Christians and have them thrown in jail for worshiping Jesus Christ.  The next week, God has performed a dramatic change in his life, and from that point forward he is used by God as a champion of Christianity.  The church isn't the same due to the work of God, the intervention in a dramatic way to change the shape and future of Saul, now Paul.
  Think of these Jews, too.  One week they're looking at Saul as a hero, persecuting the Christians who they see as breaking away from traditional Judaism.  The next week, they're wondering what happened to their champion and why he is encouraging the Christians and inviting others to come and join the church.  Things change quickly.
  So when we look at people around us, when we make judgments, may we be careful.  May we recognize that God can do amazing things in the life of his beloved children.  No one is too lost, too far gone, too distant from God to have their life transformed by grace.  God pursues, God loves, God redeems, God transforms.  So may we be willing to let God work in the lives of those around us, and may we give thanks for the work God has done in ours.