When Jesus spoke to Saul in Acts 9, He asked, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). The Lord’s question reveals many things that we might often consider, but think for a moment about the question itself…Why? What was Saul’s motivation, or what was he trying to accomplish through persecuting members of the Lord’s church?
Saul was motivated by a misguided faith. He both believed and trusted in God but did not yet understand what God had done in sending Jesus to die on the cross. Saul thought that
Christianity was in opposition to God, and so his faith moved him to pursue and punish believers.
Saul was motivated by his imperfect love. He loved God but did not yet understand how much God loved the world. Saul considered Jewish converts to Christianity to be traitors, seeing them only through the incomplete eyes of the Old Law.
Saul was trying to serve God. He thought his actions were justified and pleasing to God (Acts 23:1); he was zealous in his faith and sincere about his decisions.
When Jesus asked Saul, “Why?” the Lord already knew the answer, but Saul still needed to learn. He needed to pause, think, and realize that his actions hurt not only people but also God, whom he was trying to serve.
Matt Langfield