At the beginning of chapter 9, we come across Saul (later called Paul) who is on his way to Damascus after the martyrdom of Stephen. As he comes near to the city, where he was on his way to persecute more of the believers in Christ, he sees a light and hears a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" And Saul's response is to ask, "Who art thou, Lord?" (Acts 9:4-5)
Saul of Tarsus was one of the best known students of Gamaliel, a Jewish teacher. He likely spent much of his life studying the laws that God had given the Jews, and the recorded word of God that was sacred to the Jews. Despite all of his studies, he did not know God. He didn't know him personally, and so asked the question, "Who art thou, Lord?"
On the other hand, Ananias (the man that God tells to go to Saul and help him receive his sight) knew God, even though he might not have been a scholar of all the laws of the Jews. When God called to him, answered, "Behold, I am here Lord." (Acts 9:10) He did not have to ask, as Saul did, who the Lord was.
If I was in a similar situation as these two men, which one would I respond more like? How well do I really know God? I can really relate to Saul in this story in that I often focus on learning about God from a scholarly standpoint. I often think that if I continue reading the scriptures over and over, I will be able to draw closer to God. And this is probably true to some extent, because reading the scriptures helps us to know who God is and what He has done for us, but maybe this doesn't help me to know God on as personal a level as spending time speaking to Him through prayer. This story about Saul has helped me to realize that I should spend more of my time getting to know God personally rather than just on the scholarly level.
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