And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. Acts 22:10
I was working on a construction project one time, when I was sorting out some materials in the construction trailer that belonged to the prime contractor. I noticed on the large table was a stack of blueprints. I was interested, because the company I was working for had just one blueprint, and it showed primarily the work that our company was involved in. But this stack had blueprints for every phase of the work, and for every company that was involved in the project. The prime contractor could look at them all, and could coordinate the work among the different contractors. If one of those other contractors needed more information, they would go to the prime contractor, but that was seldom needed. In our text, Saul of Tarsus is asking to see the master set of blueprints for his life, and the Lord is telling him that he doesn’t need to see them all yet.
As Saul is transformed from a persecutor to a worshipper of the Lord Jesus on that Damascus Road, he is ready for action, or at least, he thinks he is. But God, who has the entire set of blueprints for Saul’s life, gives him a simple diagram for simple obedience. More details will be coming later, but Saul has everything that he needs for now. This is an important lesson for us, because we often want to get all the details and directions from God before we get started. But God gives us simple and plain directions to start with. For example, after we are saved, we are shown the need for prayer and Bible study, and for associating ourselves with the Lord’s people. As we obey these, God hands to us the blueprints for baptism, for Assembly reception, and for other steps along our progress pathway. There is no need for us to be concerned about steps that we are not in a position to take, or for us to do things that we are not yet prepared for. God expects us to follow the blueprint He has given us, and when we complete that, He will always have another.
God had much in mind for Saul of Tarsus, and eventually, Saul would fulfill the great mission that God intended. There would come a time when he could fold up the blueprints and declare ‘I have finished my course’ (2 Timothy 4:7). All along the way, in what must surely have been one of the most exciting lifetimes on record, Paul knew the Lord’s guidance. As our text relates, he was not afraid to ask for directions, and he was not afraid to carry out those directions. When we come to the end of our little Christian mission, will we be able to say that we finished our course? Will we have been willing to move, step by step, as God revealed the steps? – Jim MacIntosh