and immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “he is the Son of God.” [acts 9:20]
this moment of turnaround for paul is amazing.
for such a long time he had been denying that Jesus was the Messiah that israel had waited for. for such a long time he had been filled with hatred for Jesus and those who believed in him. for such a long time he had suppressed the truth about Jesus that he had been reading his whole life.
but in one blinding moment, he was faced with reality when he met Jesus on the road to damascus. humbled and humiliated, he wound up face down on the ground before the glory of the Messiah. then three days of darkness, where all he had were the scriptures he knew so well, screaming out the truth that he had been suppressing. Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. i can’t imagine the number of times during those three days as more and more scripture came to mind, that he just shook his head, saying, “of course he is…of course he is. how could i have been so blind?”
but even this hardened heart was immediately proclaiming the truth about Jesus. everything saul had once taken pride in, he now threw aside to proclaim publicly that he had been wrong. that Jesus was exactly who he claimed to be, and that now saul’s life was devoted to lifting Jesus high.
this proclamation is the heart of christianity. Jesus is the Son of God. those who believe these words will cling to Jesus for their salvation, will rest in the power of his blood to make them righteous before the Father, and will bow their knee to him in everything they do because they have made him Lord over their lives. this will lead to a life of repentance, giving up pride, turning from former ways, humbly confessing and proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God.
if this describes you, take a moment and thank God for revealing this truth to you. thank him for the miraculous transformation of your heart of stone. thank him for humbling you and causing you to bow your knee before him, confessing him as Lord, clinging to him as Savior, and loving him as King.
now let’s go and proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God! where will you proclaim him today?
~ arwen eastman