Acts 9:4-5 - " And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:"
Here we have the meeting between Saul of Tarsus (the persecutor of the church) and Jesus Christ (the risen Savior and the author of Christianity). And as you know, the rest is history as Saul became Paul and the world was turned upside down by the Christian message. Now, what catches me heart in this passage is the words of Christ when He states to Paul: "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting." It's such an encouraging reality that Jesus takes my suffering and battles as His own. Saul was persecuting Christians, and yet Jesus made it clear that it was an affront and assault against Himself. That is the power of a covenant relationship. His victories are my victories, His peace is my peace, my struggles become His and my sufferings are His. What consolation this is! This is the message of the book of Hebrews, that the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth instituted a New Covenant between God and men and all that He accomplished in those acts are for the transformation of the world...and in this world, all I face as a Christian, He has already endured and defeated on His cross, and demonstrated this truth in the resurrection.