Now Saul, still breathing out threatening and murder against the disciples of the Lord, approaching the chief priest, requests from him letters for Damascus for the synagogues, so that, if he should be finding any who are of the way, both men and women, he may be leading them bound to Jerusalem. Now in his going he came to be nearing Damascus. Suddenly a light of heaven flashes above Him. And falling on the earth, he hears a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Yet he said, "Who art Thou Lord?" Yet He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting."
Acts 9: 1-5, Concordant New Testament
I recall once reading an article of a traveling salesman who came to know the Lord through the pages of the bibles which were left in the hotel rooms he would often frequent. At first he ignored the books, but as time went on and his lonely, troubled life began to take its toll, he began to peruse the pages of the good book. He was looking for answers. His job often kept him away from home for extended periods. He kept relationships with more than a few women out of town. He barely knew his two children, and now his wife was thinking of divorcing him. In his mind, his life no longer had meaning. However, as he began to read the bible, he began to feel something in his heart, something he could not explain. Eventually, the man begins spending fewer hours on the road and more with his family. The divorce which months before seemed almost certain now a distant memory. What had happened? To answer that question we might do well to ask the apostle Paul the very same question. For Paul also had felt the same stirring in his spirit which the salesman had experienced. Paul's response? "Who are you, Lord?" This is what happens when God comes knocking. I would be the first one to proclaim that nobody is beyond the Lords reach. I have seen many people who I thought would never accept the Lord Jesus eventually come to know Him, myself included. I was nothing special, just another believer wandering through life somehow adhering to the regulations of the mainstream church. I was told what and what not to do. I was told what and what not to believe. All in the name of earning my trip to heaven. Yet, through all of this I had never come to know Jesus. I knew OF Jesus, but I had yet to have my face to face Damascus road experience with Him. As in the case of the salesman, that would come in time.
Yet he said to them, "Not yours is it to know times or eras which the Father placed in His own jurisdiction."
Acts 1: 7, Concordant New Testament
The question of why God chooses to save one during one season while He waits to save another is one that's above my pay grade. Why did God wait so long to reveal Himself to me? Why did He wait to reveal Himself to the salesman until he was on the verge of losing his family? The best response I can give is that these are the Lords decisions and not mine. God chooses which doors to knock on and which ones to wait upon. Keep in mind through all of this that it is indeed the Lords desire that all would come to know Him {John 3:17}. For our part, it is in our ability to either accept Christ Jesus or not. We have been created by the Father with the ability to choose. One thing I will point out is that we may not choose Jesus, but Jesus chose us {Galatians 2:20}. There has indeed been many arguments presented over time as to why the Father does what He does. Yet these reasons may never be for us to comprehend. That He has chooses to reveal Himself in us should be our goal. To know Jesus should be our ultimate destination. Our own revelation of Christ within us might not come when we would prefer it, but rest assured that God will reveal Himself when we most need it.
For Christ, while we are still infirm, still in accord with the era, for the sake of the irreverent, died.
Romans 5: 6, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
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