Pattern of Change of Motive, Behaviour and Single-Mindedness

UV 2845/10000 Pattern of Change of Motive and Single-Mindedness
And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Acts 9 v 3
The story of Saul, the killer and chief persecutor being transformed into St Paul, the chief of the post-Resurrection apostles gives us an idea how when a person’s motive changes, his thoughts,his goals, his behaviour, his communication changes. The light from heaven – Jesus shone more brightly than the sun upon and around him, first blinding him, then leading to the dropping of the scales that blinded him to the Way, the Truth and the Life that is Jesus. His purpose and mission in coming to Damascus had changed. He now became a deliberately chosen instrument of God to make known the good news of salvation to Israel and to the Gentiles. The change of the first letter of his name signified this total transformation of his purpose, his motive, his mission, his vision, his character and conduct. Instead of hatred, love for the believers in Christ and indeed for all mankind filled his heart.
St Paul’s former Jewish bigotry changed to complete faith in Jesus. So much so, he could correct the compromising trend of senior apostles like Peter who continued to insist on circumcision as a concession to the Jewish faith. His zeal for the Jewish faith turned to passion for Christ and His message of hope for all mankind. St Paul in contrition for his past referred to himself as the chiefest of sinners while he had actually become one of the foremost influencers for the gospel in the then known world as now. We too need to experience this kind of Pauline metamorphosis so that we are blinded to the world and our eyes open to behold the wonders of “the light from heaven.” Our motive to work,live and exist has to change and everything else will follow and flow from that.
The chief virtue of St Paul was his single-mindedness and his wholeheartedness. When he persecuted the early disciples and followers of Jesus, he was single-minded and when he became a disciple of Jesus, he showed the same single-mindedness in living, teaching, leading and discipling people from different nations. While earlier he travelled only as far as hatred could take him to nearby Damascus, he now took to extensive travels and tours to European continent, the Greek isles and Asia Minor. While earlier he travelled and did things on the authority of the priests of the Jewish faith, now he was commissioned and anointed with the Holy Spirit by the Lord Himself. Even in our lives, if our motives change by the grace and light of Jesus, our lives, our impact and our results will dramatically change.
Prateep V Philip