Blinded by the Light

Date: Saturday, September 5, 2026

Nobody in the early church would have bet on Saul of Tarsus. He’s introduced breathing threats and murder, hauling believers to prison. And then, on the Damascus road, blinded by light and a voice he hears: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Notice Jesus takes it personally. Not “why do you persecute my people,” but “me”. Jesus identifies so much with His suffering Church that an attack on believers is an attack on Him. That’s the profound theology of our union with Christ tucked into one verse, which we experience at the communion table each week.

Saul is struck blind, and it takes a reluctant, frightened disciple named Ananias to complete the picture. God tells Ananias to go lay hands on Saul, and Ananias essentially says, “Lord, You know what this guy has been doing to Your people, right?” Fair objection. But Ananias goes anyway, probably more than a little nervous. And his first words to this enemy of the church are: “Brother Saul.” Then scales literally fall from Saul’s eyes. The man who came to arrest Christians becomes the apostle who plants churches across the empire and writes half the New Testament.

I’ve watched people summon that same courage, reaching out to reconcile with someone who hurt them deeply, trusting God’s redemptive plan over their own self-protection. Saul’s conversion reminds us that grace doesn’t just forgive our worst moments; it can commission them into our greatest ones. No one is too far gone for the light to find.

Devotional Prompts:

Is there someone in your life you’ve written off as “too far gone” for God to reach?
Like Ananias, when has obedience required you to act despite legitimate fear?
How does Saul’s transformation shape your hope for your own areas of resistance to God’s forgiveness?

Prayer: Lord who meets us on our own Damascus roads, open eyes blinded by pride or fear, and turn our resistance into obedience. Give us Ananias’s courage to extend grace even when it feels risky. Amen.