More about the topic
It was quite a story Paul had behind him. He had been a Pharisee, surely someone many Jews looked up to, and believed he was going to become something significant. And he had persecuted the Christians because he didn’t believe what they were saying about Jesus was true.
But when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he left all that old life behind and gave his whole life to Jesus. And Jesus had an important task for Paul. He was supposed to be the one to tell others about Jesus to various nations, not just Jews, but all kinds of people.
Paul understood that he was shown such great grace by Jesus because Jesus had hope for him and loved him. Now Paul could become an example for others. ‘Jesus came to save sinners – and I am the worst of them,’ Paul said about himself. When Jesus had shown his power by saving him, then others could also have hope.
Paul spent the rest of his life working with people and teaching them everything Jesus had said. No matter how their lives had been before, Jesus could forgive and free them from the sin they had lived in, so they could become disciples.
Questions for discussion
Bible verses that fit the theme
Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me
Isaiah 43, 18-19: You shall not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
File. 3, 13: My brethren, I do not think of myself that I have grasped it. But one thing I do: I forget what lies behind, and reach for what lies ahead.
