Let's walk in new life
Author
Alberto González Muñoz
Summary: After conversion to Christianity, there is a deep desire to change habits of life. The most radical conversion is Saul of Tarsus, who was a fanatical persecutor of Christianity. After meeting Christ, he asked what he should do, and God's answer was for him to go to town and wait for further instruction. Ananias, an ordinary believer, instructed and blessed Saul, despite having less religious training. After conversion, there is a need to learn from others and a burning desire to do God's will and change behavior. A new life is the evidence that one is truly Christ's.
Anyone who undergoes a conversion to Christ feels a deep desire to change their habits of life. The most radical conversion presented to us in the Bible is that of Saul of Tarsus. He was the most fanatical persecutor of Christianity in the early days. He himself once said that he pursued this Way to the death, arresting and delivering men and women in jail (Acts 22: 4) . For a long time, persecuting Christians was the obsession of his life. However, after meeting Christ his first words were:
-Sr., what do you want me to do? (Acts 9: 6).
I am thrilled to discover that the only answer God gave Saul was to get up and go to town, where he would be told what to do. There after three days and three nights in which he must have meditated deeply on his previous life, Ananias, God's envoy, arrived to instruct him.
Interestingly, Saul knew God's law from his status as a Pharisee, probably much more than Ananias. He could teach Ananias about God's commandments! But he needed an ordinary believer with a vital relationship with God to speak to him, instruct him, and bless him.
The most important thing after someone's conversion will always be their willingness to learn from others, who perhaps with less intellectual or even religious preparation, do have knowledge of what a relationship with God is. The great Saul of Tarsus became a helpless child before Ananias, who did not have the same training, but spoke with God and knew him long before he did.
When the Spirit of God enters a heart that has received God's forgiveness, the same thing always happens. The person feels humiliated, recognizes the mistakes of his previous life and experiences a tremendous need to learn to live differently. Saul of Tarsus himself, before becoming the great apostle that he later was, traveled a long road and many experiences that allowed him to become a useful instrument. God forgives our sins the moment we ask for His forgiveness. No one doubts it! His forgiveness is instantaneous and produces an ineffable peace. But after that peace will also come a burning desire to do God's will and an ever-present willingness to change our behavior.
It is totally impossible to say that one is Christian or Christian without these changes occurring gradually. A new life is the only evidence that we are truly Christ's.
God bless you!