Paul – a wasted past?
Before his confrontation by the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, Saul of Tarsus would already have merited several column inches in Who's Who. His was an immaculate pedigree - a pedigree enhanced by his training under the Pharisee Gamaliel, one of the most respected teachers of the law. Saul's tribe, his family, his upbringing and his education all guaranteed him respect and status in 1st century Jewish society.
But after his history-shaking meeting with Jesus, Paul declared of his former life, 'Everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant - dog dung' (The Message). No gradual conversion, this, but a total turning upside down of all his beliefs and goals.
In terms of direction, Paul might well regard his former life as dung - not only useless but positively toxic, since it led him to hound to death the followers of the one he came to love more than his own life. But in terms of training, it equipped him uniquely for his new calling.
Many of us, when we become Christians, are inclined to look on our previous life as wasted or worthless. But God knows what he is doing. The testimony of those who have been involved with drugs or crime, or possessed by the celebrity culture, speaks powerfully of the transforming power of God. Paul understood this well when he testified to his conversion and the transformation Christ had worked in him.
No part of Paul's former life was wasted or worthless. His discovery of Christ didn't undermine his faith in the Hebrew Scriptures, but wonderfully illuminated them. And this revelation, together with his training in theology and logic, gave him a commanding authority as, throughout the rest of his life, he preached Christ as the Messiah, the fulfilment of the law, the hope of Israel.
Similarly, our own background, class, education and experience is the raw material with which Jesus remakes us into unique disciples, with unique gifts and unique opportunities. Can we thank God for the past, resolving to use it courageously, mistakes and all, to reach and bless our colleagues, our fellow Christians and our wider society?
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