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"Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me."
(Acts 22:6)
Last week, I wrote about the importance of our Christian testimonies. What a joy it is to reflect upon our day of days when Jesus rescued us from darkness and adopted us into His forever family. This week, we will continue looking into the importance of our personal testimonies and how vital it is that we do what the Apostle Paul did in the Book of Acts: he shared his story often.
There are three components to the testimony of a child of God. First, there is what I refer to as our BC days, or our lives before we met Christ. Last week, we focused on this aspect of Paul's testimony in Acts 22:1-5. Next is our BD, or spiritual birthday, the moment when we surrendered to Christ. And finally, the third aspect of our testimony is what I refer to with the initials TD; not touchdown, but what Jesus is doing in our lives today! I first learned this threefold aspect to the Christian's testimony from Leighton Ford in his excellent book on evangelism entitled, Good News Is for Sharing.
Can you recall your spiritual birthday? I know some faithful followers of Jesus cannot recollect the exact moment in time when Jesus Christ became their personal Lord and Savior. I was discussing this topic with one of our staff members at our church and how he knows he accepted the Lord at 8 years of age but cannot remember the day or all the details. He struggled with this when he was a teenager but was comforted by a pastor at his church at that time. His pastor told him that since he walks with God, hears God speak to him, and God guides his daily life, it sounded to him like he knew the Lord.
In Acts 22:6-11, Paul describes the climactic events surrounding his conversion. In these verses, Paul recounts the day of days for him; the day he met the risen Christ. He went from chief persecutor to proponent and preacher. His salvation proved to be a turning point in not only church history but world history. (Source John MacArthur, Acts 13-28: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, p. 266)
Verse 6 begins with words of transition and anticipation. He gives the specifics of his day of meeting the Lord: It was noon, and the sun was shining, but suddenly, a light that outshone the sun engulfed him and his traveling party. What a startling and shocking surprise it was to Saul when the very One he thought was crucified and forever dead appeared to him and spoke to him in radiant glory.
The Lord is awesome. He is the God who saves. Every Christian's testimony is unique; not one of us is converted to Christ in exactly the same way. Sure, there are common themes and actions, but we are all individuals and have our own rendition of how Jesus saved us. Paul's story is very dramatic; yours and mine may not be that dramatic, but it is equally valid and special.
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