The Person in Front of You

About this episode

This episode explores the transformation of Saul of Tarsus and the importance of seeing the humanity in others.

Acts 9:3-6 (NIV) As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." Saul of Tarsus was not a villain. He was a serious man, a learned man, a man of deep conviction who believed with everything in him that he was doing the right thing. He was a Pharisee, trained in the finest traditions of Jewish law and scholarship, and he had concluded that the followers of Jesus of Nazareth posed a dangerous threat to the faith he loved. He had watched Stephen stoned to death and had approved of it. He had gone from house to house, dragging men and women off to prison. He was, by his own later account, zealous beyond his peers. What Saul could not see — what his very certainty prevented him from seeing — were the people in front of him. They were not people to him. They were a problem to be solved, an error to be corrected, a threat to be eliminated. His theological precision, his clarity about right and wrong…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jim Stovall, Greta Smith

Topics covered

• conversion
• theology
• humanity
• perception
• faith

Keywords

• Saul of Tarsus
• Jesus
• conversion
• theology
• humanity
• faith
• perception

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: First United Methodist Church

Places: Damascus, Maryville, TN

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