“As he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul,why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts Chapter 9 verses 3-4)
The Apostle Paul who was formerly called Saul was a brutal enemy of the church. Having supervised the killing of Stephen and the persecution of many Christians, he was poised to take his campaign to Damascus.
What he didn’t know was that this journey to Damascus would mark the beginning of another journey- a journey to discovering the mystery of Christ and expounding this mystery to the rising church.
The blinding light
As Saul journeyed with fiery religious zeal, he encountered the light of Christ. The resulting effect was that he became blind.
“Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.” (Acts Chapter 9 verse 8)
The light of Christ revealed Saul’s true state to him - he was a blind man who thought he could see. For three days, he remained blind. I can only imagine how he must have felt. Here is a man who was taught right from his childhood to follow a certain path.
Now here he was in Damascus confronted with the reality that his worldview was broken and he needed to align with the Christ whom he had previously persecuted to see the truth. I believe those three days must have been a great battle for this young zealous Jewish man.
But in the end, he heeded the heavenly call. He knew what he saw and heard - he had seen and heard the risen Christ and no one could convince him otherwise.
For many years, this man carried the torch of revival across the world building the church of Christ by revelations of eternal worth. He was never a part of the original 12 disciples, he never knew Christ in the flesh but he knew him in the Spirit and by the assurance of the knowledge of the mystery of Christ, he ran the race set for him with fire that only God could supply.
The Damascus Road
Have you ever been there? Have you ever travelled on the road to Damascus? I have and many have. I never wanted to preach the gospel, I never wanted to raise disciples for the kingdom. I wanted a quiet Christian life but once I saw the light of the world, my goals and ambitions were altered.
The Damascus Road is the road where worldly ambitions die as you behold the eternal one. It is important to note that immediately Paul received his sight, he began preaching. The light he saw did not only speak to him, but the light possessed him and till he laid down his baton, he spoke of the light.
"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ." (2 Corinthians Chapter 4 verse 6)
One lesson I learnt from the life of Paul is that God’s grace can find even the worst of sinners. The one who persecuted the church became the most famous preacher of the gospel of Christ.
If you’re reading this, I want you to take some time to pray for this generation. Pray for the youths. I see many going astray without a knowledge of the truth, they take so much pride in their delusion.
Like Paul, let us pray that the eyes of their understanding be enlightened. There is a Damascus Road for every man, a place of encounter. Like Paul, I pray my generation will see the light of Christ and in my days, entire cities and nations shall be saved.
Rume Kpadamrophe is a graduate student at the University of South Carolina. Before leaving Nigeria, he mentored several youths in prophetic, intercession, and evangelism. He is a revivalist, a writer, a researcher, and an enthusiastic lover of revival history. He desires to see revival ignited and sustained in the nations of the earth. He currently serves as the president of The Carolina Church, a campus ministry at the University of South Carolina.Rume’s email is rumekpadamrophe@yahoo.com.