To what city was Saul traveling when a blinding light from heaven stopped him and Jesus spoke to him?

The Answer

Saul was traveling to Damascus with letters authorizing him to arrest followers of Jesus when a light from heaven flashed around him and he fell to the ground. He heard Jesus say, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' Blinded for three days, he was healed and baptized through a disciple named Ananias — and the persecutor became Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles.

If the early church had made a list of the people least likely to follow Jesus, Saul of Tarsus would have topped it. He was not merely indifferent to the gospel — he was actively destroying it. And yet one encounter with the risen Christ turned history's great persecutor into its greatest missionary.

Notice Jesus' question: 'Why do you persecute me?' Not 'my people' — me. Jesus so identifies with His followers that whatever touches them touches Him. Your pain is personal to Him.

Is there someone in your life you have written off as too far gone — too hostile, too hardened, too lost? Damascus roads still exist. Keep praying. Nobody is beyond the reach of a God who recruits His enemies.