[S] Acts 26:14 --
14"And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'
[O] Here is Saul, who had been persecuting the Christians and on the way to further expand his mission in Damascus. I'm amazed at how softly Jesus approaches him despite the persecution coming from him. Jesus doesn't need to be that gentle. He could come down real hard on this guy and He can, too. But He chooses to take this gentle route. He also speaks the language Saul can relate to. This is quite the contrary to the system we use in our society. When's the last time the legal system used the language I can relate to? The burden is always on me to learn their language and if I don't then it's too bad for me. Whether I understood or not, I need to adhere to the law, isn't it? And that's why we hire the professionals like the lawyers and CPAs. However, God's ways are always in the favor of me -- He speaks our language so we can relate to His heart and to follow Him eventually from the inside out.
[A] Always see it from the other people's perspective and do my best to approach them with gentleness and understanding even if I have the full rights. Practice this when I'm driving and someone cuts me off or gets in front of me and slows me down.
[P] Dear God, Your gentleness and willingness to understand my heart (vis-a-vis Saul's encounter) simply blows my mind because You don't need to do that at all, but You did to the fullest. I want to take on that mind of Jesus in my own life and in ministry. Thank You for this encouragement. In Jesus' name. Amen.