The Abortion that Lived

"and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born." 1 Corinthians 15:7-8

The phrase “abnormally born” comes from a greek word (ekotroma) that is almost universally translated abortion. (see Vine's, Robertson, Strong and others.)

Shocking as the word abortion is let's meditate on this passage rather than react emotionally to the grotesque image the word ekotroma paints in our mind.

When Paul encountered the risen Lord he was on the road to Damascus. In fact at that time his name was not even Paul. His name was Saul of Tarsus. And his intention upon arriving in Damascus was to imprison more followers of Christ. Saul of Tarsus was a sworn enemy of the Church the likes of which we have never witnessed in America. In America Christian leaders are often heard speaking out against the ungodly, leftist courts which keep kids from praying in schools or allow such detestable practices as abortion to occur. We have never experienced a threat to our religious freedom and general well being like Saul. The legal system in America is tame in comparison. No one hated Christians and attempted to destroy Christianity more than Saul.

Saul had imprisoned, murdered, beaten, and tortured any Christian he could get his hands on. He hated the church. He made every effort to destroy it.

Then Christ appeared to him, also... boom! Things changed to say the least.

Maybe Paul was thinking as he wrote this, "why didn't Christ just kill me on that road? " Maybe Paul had been pondering the event for years, the moment Christ apprehended him. Paul might have thought that Christ would have been justified in slaying him right on the spot. But our Lord saw fit to save rather than destroy and so Saul became Paul.

How odd Paul's start as a Christian. How full of Grace. A man who God would have been truly justified in slaying to defend His people is suddenly turned into a member with full standing in the Church he once sought to destroy. Like an aborted fetus Paul could see no hope of survival in his new life, except for one thing:

The amazing Grace of God almighty. Would the church in America rejoice or despair if our perceived enemies suddenly became one of us? It would be quite a mess, and I have a feeling that is what Paul saw in his conversion, what a messy situation the Lord put him in. For the rest of his days he had to defend his standing in the church that he worked so feverently to establish. Well, Paul did work, but as he explains in verse 10 it was Grace working in him. God took a mess of a life, a Saul of Tarsus and produced Paul the Apostle,as it were and in his own words: an abortion.

We really need to stop thinking that God saved us because there was something in us He needed. Grace is quite the opposite. God save us because there was nothing in us that was good. Rare indeed in the Christian who can see the total abortion of their life up to the time they met Christ. The Grace of God is shocking and scandalous. When by all rights He should have killed us He gives us life. He takes our place, he pays the price.

Calling it "untimely born" just does not get the point. Paul had a profound understanding of the Amazing Grace of God. We need that vision now. The Grace of God takes what should have died and gives it life that cannot be imagined.