Galatians 1:18-24: a reflection

18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter, and stayed with him fifteen days. 19But of the other apostles I saw no one except James, the Lord’s brother. 20Now about the things which I write to you, behold, before God, I’m not lying. 21Then I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22I was still unknown by face to the assemblies of Judea which were in Christ, 23but they only heard, “He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.” 24So they glorified God in me.

Paul recounts how, after his conversion, the churches of Judea knew him only by report. They had not seen his face; they knew only what they heard: He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. And their response was to glorify God because of him. The man who had been the church's fierce persecutor was now proclaiming the very faith he had tried to stamp out; and seeing such a change, they gave glory to God.

Notice what moved these believers to praise: the transformation of a persecutor into a preacher. They did not glorify Paul; they glorified God, for the change in Paul was plainly God's doing. The one who had ravaged the church now built it up; the enemy of the faith now proclaimed it. Such a change could only be God's work, and it caused people to praise him. A transformed life, so changed that it could only be God's doing, gave glory to God.

That is worth pondering, both as encouragement and as a call. As encouragement: God's grace can transform even the most unlikely, even a fierce persecutor like Paul; no one is beyond the reach of the grace that changed him. And as a call: a transformed life gives glory to God, causing others to praise him for what he has plainly done. If God has changed you, let that change be real and visible, so that it gives glory to him. And do not despair of anyone, however far from God they seem; the grace that made a persecutor into a preacher is able to transform the most unlikely. Let your changed life glorify God, as Paul's did; and hold out hope for even the hardest cases, for the God who transformed Paul is able to change anyone, and to be glorified in a life so changed that it can only be his doing.

Lord, Paul recounts how the churches of Judea, knowing him only by report, heard that the one who once persecuted them now preached the faith he had tried to destroy, and they glorified God because of him. Let that move me, as encouragement and as a call. As encouragement: your grace can transform even the most unlikely, even a fierce persecutor like Paul; no one is beyond the reach of the grace that changed him. And as a call: a transformed life gives glory to you, causing others to praise you for what you have plainly done. If you have changed me, let that change be real and visible, so that it gives glory to you. And keep me from despairing of anyone, however far from you they seem; the grace that made a persecutor into a preacher is able to transform the most unlikely. Let my changed life glorify you, as Paul's did; and help me hold out hope for even the hardest cases, for you, who transformed Paul, are able to change anyone, and to be glorified in a life so changed that it can only be your doing. Be glorified in the change you work in me, Lord, and in others.