The conversion of Saul reminds us that being a disciple is no light thing. It isn't simply a matter of trying to do "the best we can." It isn't simply a matter of trying to be better, to be the best person we can be....and that will have to do. It isn't simply a matter of doing good works. It isn't simply a matter of going to church.
Conversion is the process of turning our entire lives over to God---to go to church and give thanks to God for all that we have through praise and worship---and thereby declaring that in God we trust. We go to church in order to participate in the sacraments, receiving the grace of God--ingesting the Holy Spirit---and to let the Word have its way with us so that we can be transformed and changed. To become our true selves.
Yes, conversion is about becoming better; yes, conversion is about doing better; yes, conversion is about "being the best we can be." But, not by our own doing. But by God's doing. And Conversion means that we must submit all that we are, all that we have, all of who we are in order for this to happen. It is the very sacrificial giving of our lives into God's hands for the benefit of others---which then, of course, will be for our benefit. "Not my will, but thine, Lord" So, what scales need to fall from our eyes---how must our hearts be circumcised--to embrace the truth of conversion?
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