Paul Sees Christ

In my last post I talked about how Peter after seeing the risen Lord, was given strength to do an amazing feat of strength. I talked about how that when we see Jesus, we too are given strength.
In this post, I will talk about anouther aspect of how seeing Jesus affects our lives. The Scripture I am coming from is Acts chapter 9.
Saul (eventually Paul) is setting out to go to Damascus to arrest, torture, murder, and carry back to Jerusalem any that called on Jesus as Saviour. The first verse even says he was breathing out murderous threats. He hated Christians so much that even when he breathed, he threatened them!
Anyway, Saul is on the road to Damascus to kill Christians there. All of the sudden "a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him," Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"" Acts 9:3-4 NIV
Boy, that would scare me too! It would be like walking through a dark room at midnight, then have someone take your picture with a flash 3 feet in front of you.
Needless to say Paul's (Saul's) first time seeing Jesus was a painful experience.
But can you see what this one time seeing Jesus did to him? It completely revolutionized his life!
Back to the story. Saul goes to Judas' house and is blind for three days. Then a Christian named Ananias comes and prays for him, restoring his sight and filling him with the Spirit. Paul eats some food, and regains his strength.
Notice what happens next. "At once, he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God." Acts 9:20 NIV
When we see Jesus, it not only gives us strength to do hard things, but also it completely revolutionizes our lives. We are never the same. Peter, who denied Jesus, after seeing the risen Christ and being filled with the Spirit, preached and 3000 people were saved. Saul, the maniac killer of Christians, saw Christ and became the one who brought the gospel to the Gentiles.
Seeing the risen Saviour through prayer and daily Bible reading cannot be undervalued. It is Jesus who gives us strength to carry on day by day. It is he who gives endurance, who helps us run with excellence the race he has given us.
How can we expect strength, power, wisdom, and knowledge from one we never see or talk to?
Donovan Colegrove

P.S. On this same note, today I could not think of anything to post on, despite several tries, until I began to read my Bible and pray.