Read Acts 26:1-30; also 19-32
Saul the Pharisee, who consented to the death of Stephen (Acts 8:1), immediately gave himself to persecuting the Christians. Unless all he had been taught was false, every believer in Christ was a transgressor of the law, and to the support of the law Paul had devoted his life. Only when his eyes were opened by Christ, did he see his mistake. This should be remembered when we are tempted to be uncharitable in our interpretation of motives which we condemn. Many of those with whose conduct Christian men and women disagree are not willfully wrongdoers — some of them are merely misguided. This does not excuse them, but it is a claim on our charity.
Years after Paul had learned his error, he told Agrippa the story of his conversion. He described the vision and told of the words of Christ, and added, “It was a vision of Christ that Paul saw. He knew now that Jesus was the Messiah, and turned at once to follow Him. Heavenly visions come to all young people, inviting them away from evil and from earthliness to pure, good, true and divine things. The Christian mother’s teachings, as she holds her little one on her knee and talks to it of Jesus, places before the young eyes a vision of the Saviour in His beauty and grace and love. Every sermon in which Christ is lifted up sets the vision before the young listener. How often do the tears of childhood and youth flow as the Saviour is seen in mental vision on the cross? The Holy Spirit also brings the vision in all its vividness before the eyes — the lovely, suffering, dying, glorified Jesus.
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