Dramatic change?

https://odb.org/2025/09/02/see-what-god-has-done

Acts 9:1–6 (NIV): 9 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Below is an excerpt from today’s ODB on Samuel Morse, the  creator of the telegraph and later together with Alfred Vail, invented the Morse Code:

Morse was the son of a Protestant minister and a struggling painter of landscapes. In the 1820s, he made a meagre living as a limner—“an itinerant painter” of colonial America. But his was a life God led in another direction. Morse also had an interest in science. He learned about electromagnets, conceiving an idea that would change the world. In 1832, Samuel F. B. Morse conceived the idea of an electric telegraph and later went on to make the first working telegraph.

Referencing Saul of Tarsus (more known as Apostle Paul, his name in Greek), that was perhaps the most dramatic transformation and change of career recorded in the bible! From an active persecutor of the followers of the Way as a Pharisee, he became the intellectual pillar of the early church. While the other Apostles were simple peasants and fishermen, Paul was a learned man schooled by Gamaliel, a renowned and well-known Pharisee and Sanhedrin member. Much of the theology of the Christian faith was developed by Paul in a way understood by both Jewish and Greek audiences amidst the traditions of the day that indeed Jesus chose him to be the bearer of the Good News to the Gentiles. But all these only happened because Jesus intervened in Paul’s life in his famous journey to Damascus.

Is there a need to do a u-turn or a dramatic change in our lives as Jesus calls us to do something different, whether in our career or in ministry? It may not be as dramatic as Paul, yet it could be a radical departure from what we are currently doing. Whatever it may be, it is a change that allows us to earn a living while serving God. There will still be some form of living by faith, but broadly, our material needs will be taken care of. Will we respond to His calling for our lives? Samuel Morse was an itinerant painter, but his interest in science led him to invent the telegraph and later the method of communication that bears his name. In fact, the Morse code played a crucial part in WW1 and WW2 communications. In the current context, perhaps we are teachers, lawyers, or engineers by training and profession but dabble in photography and video or music or computer coding, and thus, there is a possibility of a parallel or an alternative career path as God leads.

Have a good week ahead, everyone, and have a belated joyous Merdeka Day as we rejoice in Malaysia’s 68th year of independence! Congratulations to the Malaysian XD world champions and WD silver medalists! Indeed, it was such a wonderful Merdeka gift to the nation!

P/s – I will be away abroad in a different time zone from tomorrow evening onwards for about two weeks and will mostly pause my blog postings, or, at most, may post intermittently. Take care, everyone!