2b-3 Then Paul declared, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.

4 I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison.

13-14 [Ananias] came and stood beside me, said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear His voice.

15 You will be His witness to every one of what you have seen and heard.

16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’

— Acts 22:2b-4, 13-16

20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

— Galatians 2:20-21

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

If we want to have a clearer picture of God‘s purpose for our lives, a deeper sense of His grace and the courage to live out our faith in a way that truly honored God through reading the powerful words and teachings in Romans, we need to know Paul the apostle more. Paul’s journey from being a zealous persecutor of Christians to one of the most influential followers of Christ is a story of radical transformation, grace and calling. It’s a story that’s not only set in the past; it echoes into our lives today, inviting each of us to reflect on how God can use anyone even the least likely to accomplish His purpose.

Paul, born as Soul, was a native of Tarsus, a thriving city and the center of learning and culture in the ancient Roman Empire. Paul, was well-versed in both Jewish traditions and Greco Roman culture. His upbringing gave him a unique perspective that enabled him to speak to both Jews, and Gentiles bridging the gap between two worlds. His zeal for the Jewish faith set him apart in that diverse landscape of Roman gods and Greek philosophy. Paul wasn’t always an apostle or a teacher of grace. In fact before his conversion, Paul was a strict Pharisee, deeply dedicated to the law of Moses and was known for his zeal in persecuting the early followers of Christ.