Conversion Experiences

I was reading today about St. Paul. When he was known as Saul, he was not very nice to Christians to put it mildly. A chief defender of the Jewish faith, he was out to wipe out this new upstart group. He was there when St. Stephen was martyred. And yet, after his conversion, he went on to become one of the greatest Christian saints.

And he is not the only one. If you pick up a book on the lives of the saints, you will find that there are many whose pasts were rather colorful before they encountered an experience of Jesus that made them change their ways and start anew. We all have made mistakes in our lives, myself included. I have certainly done many things in my life I am not proud of. And as an imperfect sinner, I will no doubt continue to make mistakes despite my best efforts to avoid them.

But that is the beauty of Jesus' life and message. He came to forgive us and offer salvation. When we fall, we can ask for forgiveness and begin again. We can continue on our own path of conversion and continue to experience the power of the Risen Lord.