The Worlds Okayest Pastor

From Dickens To Damascus: How Redemption Rewrites A Life

• Jason Cline

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What if the truest thing about you isn’t your worst chapter? We connect two unforgettable turnarounds—Ebenezer Scrooge’s haunting night and Saul’s blinding encounter on the Damascus road—to explore how real redemption begins, grows, and reshapes a life. Dickens aimed his story at a society numb to poverty; the Gospels ground Christmas in Emmanuel, God with us, stepping into history to rescue, not just inspire. Put together, they ask a piercing question: do we still label people by who they were, or do we dare to believe who they can become?

We walk through Acts 9 with fresh eyes: Saul’s certainty shattered by light, Ananias’ fear met by God’s future tense, and the moment a feared enemy is called “Brother.” Scales fall, baptism seals a new start, and a mission to the Gentiles begins. Alongside that, we revisit Scrooge’s arc—not to retell the tale, but to name our habit of remembering a person’s failures long after grace has done its work. If God refuses to keep us in old categories, why do we?

This conversation turns Christmas from cozy backdrop to decisive invitation. Emmanuel is not a slogan; it is God choosing proximity over indifference. We talk about living as redeemed people in practical ways: dropping stale labels, practicing quiet generosity, extending mercy before certainty, and aligning daily habits with a new identity. If a persecutor can become an apostle and a miser can become a neighbor, then your story is not stuck. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs hope, and leave a review telling us one label you’re ready to release today.

SPEAKER_00:

So we've been in this series, Scrooge, and we were looking at so we we talked about last week um a Christmas Carol, right? So this is uh written by Charles Dickens in 1843. Uh he actually wrote it in about a month. So he started writing it at the end of October, finished it near the end of November. And so the reason that he wrote a Christmas carol, it was actually meant to be uh a political pamphlet, if you didn't know that. But in 1843, one of the things that he was dealing with in England was it was a really kind of dark time. Uh it was definitely um labor unions were a problem, and and uh in in his own words, he he talks about how like people just seemed to not care so much about their fellow man, right? There were so many things that people were were wrestling with, and there were so many things that you know, like I said, poverty was crazy, and and there seemed to be the separation in the classes and those who had money and those who didn't. And and so his original thought was to write you know ebonies are shrouds in a Christmas carol as this miser, this this person who you know, if you've ever read a Christmas carol, and if you haven't, uh like I don't want to spoil it for you, but it's been like almost 200 years, so it's it's been out there. We talked about this last week, that there's been so many remakes of it, so many versions of it. The the Muppets version, in my opinion, is still the best one in existence. Um, but but the idea of Scrooge, so when Charles Dickens wrote about Scrooge, the idea behind Scrooge is he's he's this kind of tight with his money, he doesn't really care about people, he doesn't really care about family or anything, right? And and really all he's concerned about is making money. And so if you if you as you kind of start out, the whole um the book starts out with the death of Jacob Marley, which is Scrooge's best friend, if you want to call him that. Really, they're they're more just business partners. But even then, he's he's still kind of a penny pincher, right? He's still trying to navigate you know the fact that he really is he's very selfish. Excuse me. So Scrooge, the character of Scrooge, is is meant to capture the idea of a person who really just does not care about his fellow human beings, right? So Charles Dickens, he writes this character, his hope is that people will see the problem, right? So again, he's looking at his culture or the time of England, and and people see Scrooge, they see this character, and he's hoping that they will realize that this is not good behavior, right? This is not something you're supposed to do. Christmas is actually the opposite. Christmas is the time of year when we're supposed to be caring and loving and more compassionate and concerned about those who are in need, and and so Scrooge is the complete opposite of that. And we talked about this last week, but it's amazing what an incredible, well-written story can do.

unknown:

Right?

SPEAKER_00:

So the Christmas Carol was written in order to address the problems that Charles Dickens saw. And it did, it resonated with tons of people. I mean, almost 200 years later, you and I still are talking about it. And so then we went ahead and we looked at scripture. And I need to clarify, there's a difference. The the story that Charles written that Charles Dickens wrote was a it's a piece of fiction. We understand that. The gospel messages, the Bible, as we know it, it's not. It's factual events, factual accounts of things that had happened, right? So the the birth of Jesus in all four gospels is the crux. That that's the pivotal, that's the beginning of the story. Like, don't get me wrong, the Old Testament's important, but the birth narrative is the single greatest story that's ever been captured. And it wasn't something that was made up to spark the imagination of men and women. It it's it's a written factual account of the birth of Jesus. And and so we talked about this in John's, you know, when John captures it, John's talking about the importance of Christmas and the birth of Jesus and coming into the world to save us. And and and one of the things that in my house lately, uh we've been the word Emmanuel has been thrown around a lot. And part of that's because you know, our fascination was skillet, and our kids love skillet, and we've been listening to oh come manuel, like on non-stop, repeat forever. So one of the conversations that came out of that was this idea of Emmanuel. What does that mean? You know, it means God with us, right? And and so that that's what that's what's captured in the gospel is the moment that Jesus stepped down into the world and he offered salvation. He was born as a baby. I uh we talked about again last week. AW AW Tozer uh describes it as imagine the Savior of the world walking around on little rubbery legs. Right? I mean that that's that's the significance of the story is God came into the world in human form. And it's fantastic. It's fantastic what he did. And so as we go back to the story of Scrooge, that the one thing that Charles Dickens didn't do is he didn't leave Scrooge to be the bad guy. Again, if you've read the story, you've seen it. Uh we're listening to it right now through a podcast by the Hope Media Group. Uh, that's something that collectively we're doing uh as a church. If you've listened to the story or seen the story, Scrooge, in all of his bitterness and all of his inability to care about people, he gets visited by three spirits, right? And and and they force him to look at his past, his present, and his future. And depending on, again, your depiction of it or what version you've seen, some of the stuff can be quite terrifying. But but really that the whole point of this is that Scrooge is being faced, uh, is forced to face the reality that who he was and who he is is ultimately going to be a problem for who he's becoming. He's faced with the reality that he's not a good person, that he doesn't understand the plight of humanity around him, that he's so self-centered, so self-focused that he actually misses the point of life. He misses out on a relationship with his uh nephew. He misses out, you know, with his his current partner, Crackett. He he misses the point that that his life is is so self-centered that he doesn't really see that there are people around him that actually care about him, but actually love him. That's Cratchit, by the way, not Crackett. I know. I know. That's my wife over there. She looked at me and I knew I said it wrong because you know that thing happens. Um that happens sometimes. But so so Shrooge is faced with his own kind of reality, and he's forced to deal with that pretty upfront, to be honest, right? And so Charles Dickens, what he chooses to do is he chooses to end the Christmas Carol on a story of redemption. Scrooge comes out of this nightmare for the night and and has this change of heart. He has this ability to kind of refocus, and he realizes that life is so much more than the money that he's making and the single solitude life that he's chosen, that it's so much more. And ultimately he comes to realize that Christmas is so much more than that. It's like the Grinch before the Grinch. Right? And and so that the the beautiful part of a Christmas Carol is Scrooge finds redemption. That's that's the point. Dickens wanted to make sure that people understood that that everyone had an opportunity to find redemption. And and that's the story of the gospel, in and of itself, that that the reason Jesus stepped into the world, the reason that Jesus became human is because he he knew what you and I often struggle to remember, and that that that everyone is worth saving. That's the message of the gospel, that that when we couldn't save ourselves, God saved us. That that's Emmanuel. That that is God with us, that he stepped into the brokenness of this world. That he changed our story. And and so the reason we're gonna be in Acts 9 today, and we're looking at the life of Paul, um, who was Saul, right? He becomes Paul, is because when you think about the way we understand Scrooge today, right? Anytime we come across someone who's negative or hates Christmas or seems to be kind of you know not all uppity like we expect them to be, we immediately immediately label them as a Scrooge. We we we give them that title, right? Because for whatever reason, even though Scrooge, Ebenezer Scrooge, has experienced redemption, we can't let go of who he was. That's the problem. And and but that's the story, right? So I mean I understand, but but he found redemption, and we can't let go that he was still a miser, that he was still a penny puncher, that he was still self-loathing, that he was still selfish. Whenever we talk about, whenever we talk about people who are negative or or that kind of mentality, we always call them a Scrooge. We never call someone a Scrooge who's happy and joyous and and and and giving and loving, even though that's what Scrooge became. We never focus on his redemption, we always focus on his failures. I think that's a human problem. And and so that's what we're gonna look at this morning. That so often in life we don't live as if people have been redeemed. We don't even live as if we've been redeemed. We we still remember who we are, we still remember what we do. Almost everyone I talk to in this world, when it comes to if they have an incredible story or incredible testimony, so often they talk about what they did and who they were and what God saved them from. And listen, I'm not saying that's bad. It's not, but sometimes that's all they talk about, is everything God had saved them from, but but we don't talk about what God's doing in their life now. Or when we look at people that have found Jesus and and we knew them before Jesus, we we talk about who they were instead of who they're becoming. That that's a problem because you and I are not meant to live in our life before Jesus. Where once we've accepted Christ, once we've stepped into the waters of baptism, once we've experienced the grace and mercy of Jesus, once we've been redeemed, we are now supposed to live as redeemed people. Our story has been rewritten, our our our focus is different, our our hope is eternal, right? That's the point of the story. That's the point of the gospel that God came in and saved our brokenness in order to redeem us and to give us a better future. And so, again, when we talk about screws, we always focus on his bad qualities. So, Acts chapter 9, we come across a man by the name of Saul. And Saul is well known at this point in the history of the early church, not for the right reasons, mind you. He's well known for all the wrong reasons. So uh Saul, chapter, or sorry, Acts chapter 9, verse 1, says, Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked them for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the way, which is what they were calling the following of Jesus at the time, whether they were men or women, and he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. So Saul has a reputation. In his mind, he's trying to do the right thing, and and so he he's asking permission to round up anyone who's following this Jesus, to arrest them, to deal with them properly. Starting in verse three, he says, As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are who are you, Lord? Saul asked. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied. Now get up and go into the city, and you'll be told what you must do. Can you imagine that that experience? All of a sudden you're just walking down the road and this huge light just shines around you. Verse 7 it says, The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, he did not eat or drink anything. So Saul's encounter with Jesus, it blinds him. Those with him saw nothing, heard nothing. Imagine trying to explain that to these people. I can imagine the scene was chaotic. Saul probably just falls down, goes blind, can't see, and all of his all the people around him are like, What is going on? What just happened? They don't know. They they haven't seen anything. But Jesus shows up, blinds Paul, says, Listen, you are persecuting me. Why? So they get up, they leave him to the city. Verse 10 says in Damascus there is a disciple named Ananias, and the Lord called to him in a vision. Ananias, yes, Lord, he answered. The Lord told him, Go to the house of Judas on Strait Street, and ask for a man from Tarshus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight. So Ananias gets this call from God and says, Listen, go now, find this man named Saul. He's praying, and I want you to set him free. I want you to heal him of his blindness. And again, here's where Saul's reputation comes into play. Verse 13 says, Lord, Ananias answered, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem, and he has come here with authority from the chief priest to arrest all who call on your name. So again, Ananias hears this message from the Lord to go to this man, and immediately Ananias thinks of every other story he's heard about Paul, about this man named Saul. He says, Lord, I I've heard tales. I I know why this man is here. I I know what he's come to do, and I know that I'm not someone he likes. I know. I could be arrested. Lord, you were there, right? When he stoned, when he was part of the stoning, like you you've seen everything that you know his past, you know who he is, you you know that he's the Scrooge. The old selfish that that's that's who I know. But the Lord continues, and he says, but the Lord said to Ananias, go. This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and the people of Israel, and I will show him how much he will suffer for my name. So Ananias is stuck on who he was. But God says, I know who he's going to be. That's important. God sees Saul, this man who's persecuting him. Jesus reveals himself to him. And then God tells Ananias, now he's gonna go and he's gonna change the world. And Ananias doesn't understand this. He can't possibly there's there's no way that God, God, there's no way that you can use someone like Saul for your mission. That that is impossible. You know what he you know what he's like, right? What he did, who he was, all the problems he's caused. And the Lord says, Yeah. But he's my instrument, he's the one that I've chosen. Verse 17 says, And Ananias went to the house and entered him. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he were grained, uh, he regained his strength. So Ananias goes to him, he goes to Saul and he says, Listen, I need you to understand who sent me. God sent me to you. I'm gonna heal you. You need to eat, you're gonna be filled with the Holy Spirit, you're gonna be baptized, and then your mission is about to begin. And and again, it's such an interesting contrast because when I think about when I think about Ananias, Ananias' response, I think, is where most of us are. When we see people, when we hear About people that have a past or a record or things that they've done and mistakes that they've made. You know, I think it's interesting because to me, we talk about Scrooge in light of his mistakes. But when we talk about Paul, we hardly ever talk about who he was. Because he listen, he's done so much for the spare of the gospel. He's done so many things for the kingdom of God, so much more than most of us could ever even understand or imagine. But Paul's life was radically changed because of an encounter with Jesus. This man who went from killing and arresting Christians would eventually be a man who died. On behalf of that, he was sacrificed for his faith, which again is crazy. But Saul, before he found Jesus, was a murderer. He was an awful person. He was the bad guy. He was trying to stop everything that was happening. We talk about that, but we kind of like jump over that and move on. Well, look at all that is good, all the good that he's done. You know, absolutely. But that's not where he started. He was a problem at the beginning. He was. No one trusted him. Ananias' response is, God, do you know who he is? God said, Yeah, I do. And I'm going to use him. And I'm going to do incredible things through him. He's going to know. He will know just how much. It's one of those harder things, but he says, He's going to suffer for me. But but that that but that's the beauty of this story is God saw Saul. And Saul, someone who was worth redeeming. Someone who had a purpose. Someone who he had a plan for. He knew who he was. He wasn't shocked. It's not like God was surprised that Saul was not a great guy. But that wasn't the point. Ananias and his humanity got stuck on that. Now listen, Ananias was obedient. He went and he did what he was supposed to. And part of me wonders how that interaction with Ananias was when he arrived. Was he hesitant? Was he quiet? Was he kind of sheepish? I mean, Paul couldn't see him. So maybe his idea was I'm just going to heal him and get out of here before his eyes come back. Because this guy's not going to identify me. But he didn't. He showed up, he fed him, this Holy Spirit filled him, and he was baptized. And Saul, who we know as Paul, would go on to change the face of the entire movement. The way. He would become one of the greatest followers of Jesus. He would turn the world upside down. He would travel as far as he could to the end of the world to spread the message of the gospel. And honestly, his mission to the Gentile was why you and I are here today, because he went and lived the rest of his life devoted to Jesus. But that's not where he started. I think that's the frustration with Scrooge. Because we always talk about who he was. But at the end of the story, he found redemption. He was a changed man. We don't know much beyond that. But one would think that he had lived the rest of his life loving people differently, living differently, taking care of others. You know, maybe even gave up his great wealth and sacrificed it to the blessing of others. We don't have those details, but we see redemption in the life of Paul. We see what happens when Jesus gets a hold of people. Even a murderous, vile scumbag like Saul. We see what happens when redemption steps into the story, when grace is evident. We see what happens when God looks at someone who's lost and broken and says to us, listen, I know who they are, but that's not who they're going to be anymore. That's the beauty of the transformation we see in Paul. Is because I would venture to say in today's world, and probably even then, the first couple years that Paul knew Jesus was probably a little rough. No one trusted him. Everyone probably looked at him with like shifty eyes, wondering when he was going to change or go back to who he was. They were worried that all of this was a ruse. Because they couldn't forget who he was. I get that. That's hard. We lump people in the categories. We do that ourselves. I said it earlier, and I think it's true. At least it's held true. Is so often when we talk about our own redemption story, we get so fixated on who we were that we lose sight of who we are now. And listen, it's not bad to reflect on those things, but but God didn't save you. God didn't offer you redemption so that you can continue to tell the same old story. God redeemed us so that your story would be different. That matters. It has to. Scrooge is such an important character for us as people, as humanity. Scrooge is a reminder of that seeking wealth and solitude and loneliness and selfishness have negative consequences. Always. At the end of Scrooge's life, when he dies, there's no one. He lives a meaningless existence. Scrooge is a fictional character that tugs at the hard strings and hopefully challenges us to be better, to be more giving, to be more loving and compassionate. The life of Paul has a different connotation. Paul's story is one of redemption. Paul's story is one of what God can do with people that we have written off long before they showed up. Paul is a reminder that your past does not define your future. That's the beauty of redemption. That's where Jesus is found. That's why Christmas matters. See our tree next to us. I love it. Kids decorated, it's so much fun. There's a little nativity set, so next to me you can't see. Like our house is all Christmas themed. You drive around the neighborhoods, it's all the lights and the trees, and we're so excited for what's coming. But but I'm telling you, Christmas is not about any of those things. Christmas is about Emmanuel. The moment that God stepped into the world to redeem us. I know what he's done, but I am going to use him for great purposes. That same God is the same God that looks at you and me and says, Yes, I know who you were. But I'm more interested in who you're becoming. Because I have a plan for you. I have a purpose for your life. I can redeem you. Your past does not dictate how I can use you in the future. That's the redemption story. That's why Jesus coming into the world matters. Without Jesus, without God choosing to step into this world, our future was destined to be separate from him. But he didn't. That's so important. He saved us from ourselves because our story was yet to be written. It's not over. As long as there's breath in my lungs, redemption is still possible. I know who I was. I remember my life before Christ. I'm not so worried about that. So as I wrap this up. And one, this has been neat, by the way. The setting's been fun. This chair is really comfortable. Just saying for someone who's standing in the pulpit. It's been nice to sit here. It's been nice to talk and listen. But let me leave you with this. For those of you who are struggling with who you were before Jesus. Let that go. It's not your life anymore. You are not saved. You were not redeemed to sit around and remember who you were. You're supposed to live for who you're becoming. And it takes time. It's a process. It doesn't happen overnight. Being holy, like we're called to be holy, it's a process. It takes time. It always does. But keep moving forward. Don't lose sight of that. God has redeemed you. God has saved you. It doesn't matter what the rest of the world thinks about you. God looked at you and said, Yep, that's the one. That's the one that I'm going to use to change the world. For those of us who have been at this for a long time, for those of us who had oftentimes, I think we're more like Ananias than we probably care to admit. Give people grace. Extend them mercy. Because God's not done with them yet. God's still working on them. God has a plan for them. God is using them. That's the beauty of all of this, God has a plan. You and I don't know what that is. I don't know what their lives can look like. I don't know what they're going to do. No one knew what Paul was going to accomplish, but God did. So show mercy. Show grace. Show understanding. You and I are redeemed people. If we have found Christ, if we have accepted Jesus, we're redeemed. God's still working. He's still molding us. He's still growing us. To the end of my last breath on the earth. He's working. That's a good thing. And to those of you who might be watching this, and maybe you might even watch it later, and you feel like you have done too much, and redemption is not for you. And there is no way that Jesus came to save you. Let me tell you. Stop lying to yourself. You're the exact reason Jesus came to earth. He saw you in all of your struggles, all of your pain, all everything that you don't like about yourself. And said, that's the one I'm going to use. That's the one that I came here for. That's the one that I'm going to die for. That's the one who needs redemption. And you're never outside of that. If God can take a man like Saul, a murderer, and use him to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Imagine what he can do for you. That's the beauty of grace. That's the beauty of redemption. That's why Christmas matters. If you had no presents, if you had no gifts, no lights, none of it. Jesus still came. Emmanuel. God with us. Alright, let's pray. God, I thank you for this day. I thank you for this time. I thank you for this opportunity, God, to just share the truth of the story of Christmas. With those who are listening and those who might listen later, God, it's it's all about redemption. We are not called to live in our past, but instead as new believers who are in Christ, called to live in our future. The men and women you are creating us to be. Because that's what you've chosen. You looked at us and you said, That's the one I want to use. God thank you for that. Thank you for redemption. Thank you for Jesus. Amen. Alright. I hope you guys have a wonderful day. Enjoy the snow. Enjoy cozying up with your family. And uh Lord willing, we'll see you next Sunday at church. Bye.

unknown:

Bye.