Change

This week I want to talk about change.  It is a common debate in the world today of whether or not people can truly change.  But I know that we can all change.  We can all do better and we can all become better people.

The apostle Paul, formerly known as Saul, is a great example of this.  Saul persecuted the apostles of the Lord, and witnessed the murder of the apostle Stephen.  He was on his way to Damascus to get letters that would allow him to capture apostles, tear them from their families, and bring them to Jerusalem.  He was on his way when suddenly a light from heaven shone round about him.  Saul fell to the earth and heard a voice saying: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Jesus Christ talked with him and Saul answered him, saying, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?"  

On this earth we are given agency, or the power to choose.  We are not bound by some predetermined destiny to be good or bad.  Yes, God has a plan for us, but we have the power to use our agency to do right or wrong.  Paul used his agency here to follow the Lord.  "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?"  The very Lord he was persecuting, he chose at that moment to follow.  

When Paul was taken into the city, the disciple Ananias recognized him and remembered the evil he had done to the saints in Jerusalem.  But the Lord answered him in Acts 9:15: "Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel."  

This is such a powerful statement.  The Lord is not bound by time or by our pasts.  Ananias only saw the man who had done so much evil, but the Lord saw only Saul's potential.  

No matter our pasts, no matter how many mistakes we have made, the Lord sees what we can become.  We all have the power to change, and we have the choice to be better.  At any point, we can do as Paul did, and we can use our agency to follow Him.