Today we look at a lot of experiences and circumstances that made the man we know as Paul in scripture.  I've alway been fascinated by what developed the people we read about in scripture and the circumstances around their life that made them into who they were.    When Paul encountered Christ on the road to Damascus, he wasn't just magically transformed all at once.  

Paul would have a lot of experiences that would develop his message to the world.  Even though he had a past of persecuting christians, Paul was able to develop his new identity in Christ and would commit himself to helping others experience Christ the way he did.    We have to understand and appreciate the people that God brings into our lives and how they represent God to us.  

Imagine what it was like for the other disciples trusting and getting to know Paul as one of them.    I'll share an exercise called "faces of grace" that I learned from a guy named Ed Khouri that will help us identify and appreciate those in our lives that show us God's grace and model it.   Paul overcame a lot from his past and by looking at his teachings we can learn to live into our new identity just as Paul did as he looked to Jesus for all he had and was.     

Key Scriptures:  

Galatians 1:11-21 

1 Timothy 1:13-17