"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Acts 9:4
Have you been in a large group before and felt lonely? I can remember when I was in eighth grade, I didn't have any friends so I would make myself look like I was busily walking to somewhere during lunch. Of course, if anyone was paying attention they might have noticed that something was wrong with me as I passed them again, lapping the school.
Many of us can feel alone even when we are in a large group of people: school, park, even church. But as brothers and sisters of Christ, we shouldn't have to feel this way. When Jesus called Saul to be His instrument, Jesus gave us a beautiful picture of the intimacy He has with His church.
Saul had never met Jesus before and yet Jesus told him that when Saul killed Stephen and when he jailed the men and women who were Christian, Saul was hurting Jesus. The pain that they felt, He felt. The suffering and hardship that they suffered, He suffered with them. It was as though Jesus was standing beside His children, Himself being stoned; Himself being jailed.
