encounter

When was the last time you met someone so influential over your life, you totally changed? Made anew, not just the skin, but all the organs inside. So new, that when you walk, it'd squeaked.

I'm not just talking about bad habits, I'm talking about HUGE character flaws.

From the bible, I've met someone who's changed, walked in a 180 degree direction from his original path. From being a skeptical, to a believer, from a prosecutor, to be the prosecuted, from a man of noble position, to a man put in jail multiple times.

Paul, was a Jew, who studied under Greek philosophy was also a Roman citizen. As Ravi Zacharias to appropriately summed it in one sentence: The Hebrews gave the world its moral categories; the Greeks its philosophical categories; and the Romans its legal categories - Paul (or previously known as Saul) had everything that one would need.

BUT... he didn't believe in Christ... initially. In fact, he persecuted all who believed in Him. Christ wasn't his Savior, wasn't his Lord. Not until he met Christ on the way to Damascus. Then, he changed. Not just out of fear, but I believe the encounter was so real, he couldn't turn away from it. He could no longer deny Christ. From that day on, he gave up everything that was his, and gave all to Christ.

Similarly, in this day and age, I've met so many people, who have come to know Christ, and have walked in a totally different direction in their lives soon after. Angry people becoming the most patient and calm, anxious people being able to achieve peace. True encounters with influential people, will definitely change the person. Can we then deny that Christ or God does not exist, even for those who've met Christ and truly changed?