God’s love can penetrate even the most prickly person.

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And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?”
And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But arise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
Act 9:4-6 English Standard Version

Colorado Springs is in the middle of snowstorm as I write this blog. It’s a storm that has already dropped a significant amount of snow in the Rockies and is also projected to drop a serious amount in our community.

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Snow will settle even in the prickliest of places. A large open space surrounds our neighborhood and in this open space are many yucca plants. I’m grateful for the trails the weave through these yuccas. You know what I’m talking about if you’ve been pricked by one of these plants. It hurts.

The falling snow doesn’t care about how prickly these plants are. The snow falls through the spaces between the leaves and settles at the base of the plant, ready to water that plant when it melts.

Saul was a rather “prickly” person to a fledgling group of believers in Jesus. He arrested some, stood by as Stephen was stoned to death, and worked a plan to annihilate Jewish people who believed in Jesus as their Messiah.

God’s love doesn’t care how prickly a person might be. It penetrated Saul’s life and completely changed him.

The story of Saul’s conversion (later he’s called Paul) gives me hope for family members and friends who are prickly to the faith I confess in Jesus. It also gives me hope that God’s love can penetrate the prickliness of my heart.

It is this love of God in Christ Jesus that penetrates our hearts and nourishes our lives. Thank God that there is no one so prickly that he can’t love.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner