9:26 And when Saul had
come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of
him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and
brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord
on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at
Damascus in the name of Jesus. 28 So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in
and going out. 29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed
against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. 30 When the brethren
found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.
Saul's early experiences as a believer underline a very real
truth - our past follows us. In Damascus the Jews were confounded by his sudden
switch. In Jerusalem they were afraid of him. One minute he was rounding up the
followers of Jesus and throwing them in prison. Now he is preaching Jesus? The
change was too quick. The memories were too fresh. Trust doesn't come that
easily. A man may stop drinking but that doesn't mean people stop seeing him as
a drunk. A woman may stop sleeping around but her reputation will still linger.
Liars may reform but that doesn't mean anyone will believe them. This
phenomenon is real and not all bad. What if Saul was just using a new tactic to
hunt the faithful? What if we was trying to infiltrate so he could find out how
who was really involved in this "new heresy"? Jesus never commanded
us to trust everyone all the time.
Sin of any kind breaks down trust. Trust is hard to rebuild.
The more severe the violation, the more difficult it is to rebuild.
Have you ever had someone believe in you when no one else
did? Have you ever built a bridge for someone else? Trust restored is a
beautiful thing because it is so rare. Deep down we want to see the happy
ending after a broken relationship because it awakens hope in us. It helps us
believe for better things. It builds bridges.
One of the most important reasons to feed on the stories of
Jesus' life is because He was the ultimate bridge builder. He saw potential and
value in absolutely everyone. He changed lives no one thought could ever be
changed. If you lack hope, look to Him. Every. Day.
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