Sometimes, God seems to have a real sense of humor. Take Paul (called "Saul" at this point) and his hunting down Christians. God could have struck him dead and removed him from the picture as a threat, but there was a different purpose for Paul. God wanted to make an enemy into an apostle, and that is just what God did. Perhaps he could see that, in Paul's heart, there was a genuine zeal for God that could turn the world upside down if it was channeled in a better way. Indeed, that is exactly what happened.