An Alarm

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:1-2 NIV)

Last night, at small group, we were discussing alarm clock alarms. The ring tones our phones have are great. You can wake up to about any alarm clock sound you want. I wish I had these kinds of choices when I was younger, although I'm not sure it would have helped much.

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 you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." (Acts 9:3-6 NIV)

Alarm clock noises when I was growing up were more like a shrill shriek that was warning you of an impending nuclear holocaust. Maybe that was because we were all afraid of Cuba back then and we were sure Revelation was prophecy of a nuclear war between us and the U.S.S.R. But I digress. It didn't matter how loud that alarm was or how horrendous it sounded, I still slept through it.

Saul's alarm clock noise was pretty loud and shrill as well. I'm not sure how I would react to God interrupting my drive to Cincinnati, knocking me out of the car, and speaking to me from a bright light. I'm not sure how my companions would have taken it, either.

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, and did not eat or drink anything. (Acts 9:7-9 NIV)

When it bothered the people around me, like my parents and, later, my wife, I learned to lean over and hit the snooze button so they wouldn't be as agitated by my alarm. When that didn't work, because I would just go back to sleep, I found myself putting the alarm clock across the room so I had to get out of bed and walk across the room to turn it off. That still didn't work. I would walk back across the room, lay back down, and fall asleep again. I just didn't want to get up.

I wonder if this is part of the reason Saul stayed blind for three days and nights. Don't get me wrong, I see the connection between Jonah, Jesus, and Saul here, but I wonder if Saul's stubbornness might have had something to do with it, too. Could it be that simply knocking him down with a bright light wouldn't have been enough? Is it possible that he would have simply hit the snooze button and gone back to his old ways?

How about you? What kind of alarm do you need to wake you up in the morning? What kind of alarm do you need to wake you up from rebellion against God? How far into the "distant country" do you go before hearing the alarm? Do you wake up or hit the snooze button and go back to bed? How do you respond to an alarm from God?