“If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” During a recent thunderstorm, Melanie joined me in the kitchen and said, “That was a tree falling.” I heard the sound, but I thought it was thunder. We both stepped out on the porch to see if a tree had fallen. But we saw nothing. So I asked, “If a tree falls in a neighborhood . . .” Later in the day, I saw a large tree down in the park behind our house.
“If a Pharisee falls to the ground . . .” When the Lord spoke to Saul, others heard his voice, but they did not see him. As I read it, Saul saw the light but his whole party heard the sound which drove him to his knees. Saul stood up after he spoke with the Lord, but he could not see. So, his companions guided him into Damascus. During his three days of blindness, Saul fasted from food and water.
Luke’s attention to detail shows us this story is not just a parable he created. Saul changed that day. Soon all of Jerusalem would know. When Jesus transforms, others will notice that something has changed.
A man came to repair our entry sidewalk recently. He looked at my house and said, “Something is different about your house.” I pointed out where we had lost a large old Water Oak tree. “That’s it,” he said. A few months back, my dad drove past our house as he came to visit. “You used to have a tree,” he said. Just so, Jesus changes us. Has anybody noticed the transformation?
