September 1

“My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.” —ACTS 22:9-10

The Christian life is a very personal one. Every one of us begins the Christian life alone. We do not become Christians by inheriting something from our parents or associating with other Christians and somehow picking it up. Becoming a Christian involves a deliberate, wilful response to God at some point in our lives. It is like getting married. There comes a moment when we say “I will”, and at that moment something happens. Our relationship changes, our status changes.

Paul was previously Saul of Tarsus. He was the arch enemy of the church of Jesus Christ, intending on doing everything he could to annihilate the new wave of believers in Christ. On that fateful day when he encountered Jesus on his way to Damascus, Paul discovered two things. The first is that Jesus Christ is alive. Christians are not following the teachings of Jesus who once was. He is alive and willing to live His life in us. The second thing Paul discovered is that Jesus has the power to transform his life. 

In response to Jesus stating who He was, Saul asked, “What do you want me to do?” Jesus told him to go into Damascus where he would be given an agenda for the rest of his life. Paul was to become a witness for Christ among rulers and Gentiles, which would involve hardship, suffering and persecution. All of this worked out in the remaining days of his life. The point is this: Paul had bowed his knee to the Lord Jesus Christ; Saul of Tarsus was never the same again. 

There has to come a moment when we say “I will” to Jesus, and make that complete surrender to Him. Until we come to the point of saying, “Lord Jesus, take over my life”, we are not yet Christians. We may be religious, have grown up in a Christian home and be God fearing people, but there has to come that moment, as it came for Paul, when the Christian life becomes personal, and we come as sinners to Jesus. What we will discover is that Jesus loves sinners and specializes in cleaning us up. He does not come alongside us, but in us, and is Himself the power to transform lives. And in our honest moments, we know there are things about us that need changing. The Christian life is personal! 

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I want to say “I will” to You, so that your work and your life is lived in me and through me. Amen.

TO REFLECT UPON: Have I made the conscious decision to accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour? If not, am I ready to do so?