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encountered Jesus and been transformed <strong>by</strong> him, but their<br />
experience has been less sudden and the change more gradual.<br />
PAUSE AND PONDER<br />
Take a moment to consider where you are on your journey<br />
with Jesus. If you have experienced a conversion in any<br />
way, was that sudden or gradual? Whatever point you are<br />
at, why not take a moment to pause and invite Jesus to<br />
begin or continue his transformational process in your life?<br />
The transformation of Saul’s whole motivation was clear from both his<br />
life direction and his letters to the churches. On one occasion, when<br />
writing to the church in Philippi, he summarised it this way: ‘For me to<br />
live is Christ and to die is gain’ (Philippians 1:21). Both phrases are<br />
stunning in their power and simplicity. ‘To live is Christ’ is consistent<br />
with what we see of his life from the moment of his conversion, that<br />
he lived with a completely transformed motivation. But he didn’t stop<br />
there. He also included the remarkable little phrase ‘to die is gain’,<br />
which highlights the importance to him, and to us, of living our lives<br />
with an eternal perspective, which is what we will turn our attention to<br />
next.<br />
2. AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE<br />
Without an eternal perspective, life can ultimately seem meaningless.<br />
What the ancient writer of Ecclesiastes and modern-day philosophies<br />
have in common is the assertion that it’s possible to live our whole<br />
lives simply ‘under the sun’ – a phrase repeated throughout<br />
Ecclesiastes. To live ‘under the sun’ is code for living as if there is no<br />
God, and no ultimate purpose in life. In the context of our study, it’s
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