The Bigger They Come . . .
The bigger they come, the harder they fall.
We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Not all falls are the same.
The boxer Robert Fitzsimmons was about to fight the much bigger James J. Jeffries in a heavyweight title match in 1902. Fitzsimmons supposedly said of the larger man: “The bigger they come, the harder they fall.” Unfortunately, Fitzsimmons failed to demonstrate the truth of his quip (he lost the bout to Jeffries in the 8th round). Nevertheless, his remark has become something of a proverb. How many times have we seen that the more formidable the opponent, the more dramatic the impact when he comes crashing down?
. . . The Harder They Fall
The nascent Church faced just such an opponent in the days after the ascension of Jesus. Indeed, an opponent much more formidable than James Jeffries and Robert Fitzsimmons put together. This man “was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3)
Not satisfied with terrorizing the followers of Christ in Jerusalem, “still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, [he] went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1-2).
“Who Are You, Lord?”
And yet this man, Saul of Tarsus, reached Damascus a very different man . . .
To read the entire article on the Conversion of St. Paul click the link below:
