St. Paul's conversion - Stopped on the Road
“I Was Not Disobedient to the Heavenly Vision” Conversion stories are often told as if they are neat and instant. A flash of light. A sudden change of heart. A life immediately put back together. But Scripture tells a truer story. Conversion is not neat. It is not safe. And it is rarely comfortable. Paul does not describe his conversion as a quiet spiritual moment. He describes it as a collision. “ I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” (Acts 26:9) Paul begins with honesty. He does not soften his past. He does not say, “I was mistaken,” but “I was convinced.” He was faithful. He was zealous. He was sincere. And he was wrong. This is the first hard truth in Paul’s conversion: sincerity is not the same as truth. conviction is not the same as calling. Paul was not converted from unbelief to belief. He was converted from certainty to obedience. Struck Down, Not Destroyed On the road to Damascus, Paul is stopped—not by an ar...