Saul the sicarii-man, meet Paul the passionate pursuer of Christ

I'm wrapping up a day spent at a coffee shop in Knoxville, working on my research paper for my class on Paul. I was given the topic of Paul's conversion. This very broad prompt has caused me much hassle the past few weeks while I have been trying to decide how and what I would talk about. I wanted to discuss more than just 'this is Saul, he persecuted christians, and his name was changed to Paul when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.' Now that I have gathered way too much research, I am having a lot of trouble making this paper less than 25 pages. (and trust me, I do not want to have to type such a long paper)

As I've been working on this paper a lot has been going through my mind. First of all, I spent a lot of time thinking back to how my perceptions of Paul have evolved over the past years. I remember the first time that I was consciously aware as to who Paul was. It was a typical morning of family devotions at the Fruchtman house and we were going through the book of Acts. We were reading the story of Stephen and I was quite moved for a 4 year old. I ended up being hysterical hearing about how Stephen was stoned and killed for Jesus. It amazed me, it confused me, and it ultimately made me so angry at the mean guys who would do that to him. (way too much for a 4 year old to be able to understand). As I have grown up and seen how my life is full of things that displease Jesus, I have been able to sympathize with Paul more. And his previous life as a persecutor and then radical transformation is not so unlike what many of us have gone through.

I have had many more encounters with Paul's conversion as I have gotten older, from bible studies of Paul's life, to my love for art, to writing this paper. Read the accounts of Paul's conversion through a lens of the 'murder' that we commit each time we get angry in relationships (Matthew 5:21-22):

The account in Acts 9:

1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
5"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. 6"Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

I am so thankful for the new understand I have been opened to regarding Paul and his new life in Christ. I am so thankful that God can redeem anyone from anything and set them on the road that He has established for them. I am thankful that God has over and over again redeemed me.

Grace and Peace.