I don’t know if you have ever taken time to really let the lyrics of Amazing Grace sink into your soul but recently scripture has made these words so much more beautiful. Let me help you see the same beauty.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me….
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
Acts 9 is the moving story of Saul’s conversion where Jesus destroys Saul’s selfishness. What standsout to me, though, is the question Jesus asks him.
Acts 9:4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice asking him, “Saul, Saul, why are you harassing me?” (Common English Bible)
What’s strange about this question is this is the first time Saul has ever met Jesus. The people Saul has been harassing, persecuting, and killing have been Christians. Only a couple of chapters earlier did Saul sit there as Stephen became Christianity’s first martyr. Saul was the punk kid holding the coats of the guys stoning Stephen. Not to mention that the reason Saul was on this road was to discipline more Christians and to make an example of them. The reality of Saul’s actions was not that he was persecuting Christians. He was attacking, harassing the very righteousness of Christ.
So Christ being merciful revealed the spiritual blindness Saul had lived with his entire life by making his real eyes useless. I wonder what he thought those few days he could not see. All he could reflect upon were the words of Jesus in his ear. “Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Over and over these words rang in his mind, till it became clear that it was not only his actions against Christians, but his entire life had been an active war against Christ and His righteousness. The truth is that we all are just like Saul.
Whether you are a christian or a non-believer, all sin is an active harassment of the very righteousness and glory of Christ. I don’t believe that most of us have stood in the crowd rooting on the brutal murder of an innocent; but we all have stood idly by as sin triumphs in our lives. When you lie, when you steal, when you hold anger in your heart, you attack the glory of Jesus. When you lust after that person walking by or those images on that computer screen, you harass the righteousness of Jesus. When we sit passively by as we watch sin rip through this world we become just like Saul standing beside the killers with the stones. We may not have thrown anything but we are just as guilty for not standing up for Christ.
Ephesians 2:1-2 1 At one time you were like a dead person because of the things you did wrong and your offenses against God. 2 You used to act like most people in our world do. You followed the rule of a destructive spiritual power. This is the spirit of disobedience to God’s will that is now at work in persons whose lives are characterized by disobedience. (CEB)
We all were dead in trespasses against God. We have disobeyed the will of God. The thing that bothers me the most are the temptations I have to revert back to my life before Christ. So many times have I still harassed the the righteousness of Jesus because I have fallen to sin again. We all do this. How many times have you stood by as someone lusted over a person walking by? Or haw many times have you lost yourself on a computer screen realizing the last half hour has been spent in sin? Could you even count the times you told a little white lie to impress someone? Where we attack Christ most is not “big” sins like murdering someone. It is in every breath that we have. We are in a constant war trying to overcome an enemy that knows us better than we know ourselves. This is what I believe Saul pondered over for those few days his eyes we blinded.
When he was told that Christ wanted to save him and use him for his work, not only were his eyes able to see again but he was able to truly remove his spiritual blindness and see his sin in all its destruction. He was able to say, “NO MORE WILL I HARASS THE SAVIOR.” This is my hope for all of us. To remove the scales over our eyes and see Christ everyday, to seek to not persecute him but glorify him in all things.
So that we all can sing that wonderful song…
Pharrisgarcia 
Such a powerful reminder of what Christ has done for us.