Feeling Hounded

Feeling Hounded

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:8-10

I was asked to participate in a recent Willow Creek Leadership Conference held at the Willow Creek Community Church campus outside of Chicago. Craig Groeschel, an Oklahoma pastor whom I met there, described how in Ephesians 2:8-10 the apostle Paul was not emphasizing being saved by good works—it’s by God’s grace, the free gift of His Son, of course—but the need to do good works. And when we do, God has something in store for us.

Paul, before the Lord struck him with a blinding light on the Damascus road, was the same guy—then known as Saul—whose “doing” for years and years was the persecution and execution of the Lord’s disciples.

In one dramatic moment, God got Saul’s attention and caused him to be sightless for three days. Not only could he no longer keep doing what he was doing, he couldn’t see to go where he needed to go. And the men traveling with him had to help him do everything.

From the moment he was converted, Paul’s “doing” changed. God transformed Paul’s to-do list in that experience when He demonstrated how much He loved Paul, who had openly defied Him. God sought Paul much like the “hound of heaven” described in the poem by Francis Thompson. And Paul, in that life-changing moment, went from being a Jewish zealot named Saul, who mercilessly persecuted the followers of Christ, to a fervent missionary and evangelist who would preach the gospel of Jesus Christ unashamedly to both Jews and Gentiles alike.

What about you? Has the “hound of heaven” caught you and offered you His free gift? Have you accepted it? The to-do list He will give you might just change the world.

Uncommon Key > Read Francis Thompson’s poem “The Hound of Heaven.” If you have surrendered to God, be ready to receive a new to-do list.