Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." — Acts 9:3-5

Here's the context. Saul, a respected leader of the Pharisees, is absolutely determined to arrest and punish followers of Jesus for religious blasphemy. Currently, he is traveling to Damascus a nearby city, where several recent converts have fled. Many recent believers had left Jerusalem because of increased persecution by Saul and escaped to nearby cities. Damascus was one of these cities and was home to about 40 local synagogues. And now, the message of Jesus was spreading like wildfire through these local synagogues. And Saul wants to put an end to this. And keep in mind, Saul is completely convinced he is right, but he's dead wrong.

To a lesser degree, I have had several moments in my life where I was convinced I was right but came to realize I was dead wrong. As I recount these moments, I can recall being completely convinced of my position. I even defended my position with zeal. And when opposed, I became even more zealous, citing additional proof for my bent. Only to finally be proved wrong and thus humiliated after taking a strong position for a mistaken bias.

If you have ever had to "eat crow" like this, you may know what this moment is like for Saul. Except we need to remember Saul's experience is a bit more severe given he is trying to kill Christians and he is about to have a come to Jesus meeting with the risen Lord.

And I bet this confrontation was disturbing for him for several reasons. First, he discovers Jesus is alive and is directly addressing him. Second, this infers that the message that converts are declaring is true, not false as he supposed. Third, it means that his zealousness against them is completely misplaced, including his present mission to Damascus. Fourth, this means that he has to either confront his bias or deny it. Fifth, if he chooses to confront his bias, this would demand that he make a personal decision about what he's going to do with a risen Lord. And sixth, this would mean he needs to rethinking a lifetime of biases regarding his education in the Scriptures resulting in him rejecting the cult of the Pharisees and walking away from the career he has spent his entire life building. This is a man who is about to become undone by an encounter with Jesus Christ.

This is always the case. When the revelation of Jesus confronts us, we come undone. And we must address not only our positions, biases, and zeal but years of learning and everything we have built for ourselves. But it really all comes down to just one question.

"When you are confronted by the truth about Jesus, what will you do?"

Will you choose to continue to live in your mistaken biases? Or are you humble enough to accept the truth of a risen Lord who will make you rethink everything?

ASK THIS: "What will you do with Jesus?"

DO THIS: Lay down your position, biases, and zeal for his truth.

PRAY THIS: God, help me see my biases and reveal them to me to know your truth.

PLAY THIS: Lay It All Down — Will Reagan.
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