Interrupted by Infinite Grace

March 16, 2026

Read Today’s Verse: Acts 9:1-20

But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.’ — Acts 9:15

The Reflection

I’m often tempted to treat these forty days of Lent as a spiritual “self-improvement” project. I focus on my “fasting,” my discipline, and my ability to turn my life around.

However, the conversion of Saul (who later became Apostle Paul) on the road to Damascus shatters the illusion that I’m the one who initiates my relationship with God. Saul wasn’t looking for Jesus; he was looking for Christians to arrest. He wasn’t seeking grace; he was breathing “threats and murder.”

This text reveals that our natural state is not just one of passive indifference, but often active resistance to God’s will.

Saul’s zeal for the Law of Moses had blinded him to the Giver of the Law. Like Saul, our own “good works” or religious credentials can often become the very things that keep us from seeing our desperate need for a Savior.

We are shown that no amount of human effort or moral uprightness can bridge the gap created by our sin.

Then comes the Gospel.

The “Word and Promise” that does what we cannot. Christ does not wait for Saul to repent before appearing to him; He interrupts Saul’s rebellion with light and mercy.

“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? (Acts 9:4)” is not just a question of judgment, but an invitation to union. Jesus identifies so closely with us that to touch a believer is to touch the Lord Himself.

By Grace alone, the persecutor is made an apostle. Saul did not choose Christ; Christ claimed His “chosen instrument.”

This Lent, find peace in knowing that your standing with God does not depend on the strength of your resolve, but on the strength of His promise.

You are saved through Faith alone. A faith that is itself a gift given in the encounter with the Word. Just as Ananias laid hands on Saul so that he might regain his sight, the Holy Spirit uses the Word to wash away our blindness, revealing that the work of rescue is already finished in Jesus Christ.