It is an odd name for a blog. It’s just an odd saying in general, and probably one that many people have never heard before. And even if you have, and you recognize it’s from scripture, that doesn’t necessarily clear things up. So…

A goad is basically a pointy tipped cattle prod used to ‘encourage’ draft animals, most commonly a yoked oxen; to get them moving, or to get them to go in a certain direction. Some oxen take exception to this tactic and resist by kicking at the goad…or goad wielder.
And there you have it. If you’ve ever fought against someone who’s trying to get you to do something, you were kicking against the goads. Some of us kick at every goad that comes our way simply because we don’t like being goaded. I tend to kick before I even see a goad…why wait till the last minute, right? But the thing is…many, maybe even most, goads are good for us…or more importantly, for others. But I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself. Before we head down that road, we need to go down another one, the one to Damascus mentioned in the book of Acts, that’s what got this whole blog thing started…
And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you Persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ Acts 26:14 ESV

This is probably a familiar story. Saul, right before he becomes the Apostle Paul, is on his way to Damascus (breathing threats and murder, Acts 9:1). He’s going there to hunt down and persecute more Christians. Then the Lord shows up–in a blinding light, burning the sight from his eyes and the self righteousness from his heart. The fact that the Lord asks him, ‘…why are you persecuting Me?’ instead of “My followers”, or “My disciples”, that just amazes me. But the statement that follows, ‘It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’…that hurts my head! I mean it makes no sense–zero sense. At least on the surface.
Jesus is GENTLY, LOVINGLY talking to Saul as if he were a wayward child–I know he was, we all are. But Saul was also His greatest human enemy, the guy trying to destroy the fledgling church He’d spent the past three years building. Pharaoh didn’t get talked to like that–Peter and the disciples got worse tongue lashings! I guess I’ve always thought that encounter on the Damascus road changed everything instantaneously. Pre-flash of light–evil, evil man, post flash–born again, mighty servant of God. Enemy to ally in the blink of a blinded eye. But if that was true, what about those goads??? From the phrasing, they must have started prior to the trip. But how long…days, weeks…all the way back to when Saul was the coat-check guy at Steven’s stoning (Acts 22:20)? Or was it even before that? God knows, we can only guess. But he was goaded! And when I went back and really looked at scripture, that wasn’t the only surprise.
If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Philippians 3:4b-6 ESV
And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. Galatians 1:14 ESV
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.”
Acts 22:3 ESV
A Hebrew of Hebrews…blameless under the law, advancing in Judaism, and…zealous for God!
Being zealous for God is not a bad thing. Honestly, none of it sounds all that bad, or that much different from the lives of many young Christians today. Not when you really think about it. Reread those scripture passages and swap out the words Hebrew and Judaism for Christian and Christianity. I think you’ll see what I mean. To which you might say, “Well there’s a HUGE difference between Judaism and Christianity!”. Yes…and no. Old Covenant and New Covenant–striving for the impossible under the law, verses the soul saving grace of the Lamb; true, those are incomparable. But, both were founded by God…as the way His people were to follow Him. And…both were all about Jesus Christ, and led people to Him!
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, John 5:39 ESV
Here Jesus is admonishing the Jews who opposed Him, especially the leaders, explaining to them that the Old Testament was all about Him. They missed it…but others didn’t…
The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” John 1:35 ESV
One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
John 1:40-41 ESV
Thousands of Jews followed Jesus, recognizing Him as the fulfillment of scripture. Judaism wasn’t Saul’s problem. Being blind–and deaf, before he started down the road to Damascus, that’s where he failed. Blind to the truth in the scriptures, and deaf to the promptings (goads) of the Holy Spirit. Instead of opening himself up to the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit, he was zealously following the strict laws and traditions of his fathers–as opposed to the Father!

And that’s what let me to ask myself the hard questions…could what happened to Saul happen to me? Have I fallen into the trap of thinking I have God and His Holy Word all figured out, without stopping to think and pray about what it really says?
Of course the answer to that isn’t yes or no…it’s how BIG of a YES is it?
I like to think I share Saul’s zeal for God…and while I’ve never persecuted anyone, I know at times I’ve been every bit as blind and deaf as he was. But, God be praised, I’m also recognizing how present and active the Holy Spirit is in my life, patiently goading me along no matter how much I stumble, stray…or kick.
And that’s how this blog got its’ name…what it’s all about. A candid sharing of my kicking against those goads, and how God remains faithful even when I do not. I know I’m not the only one who gets a sharp spiritual jab now and then–we all have our own roads and goads. So my hope is that if you’re reading this, you’ll jump right in and share how your own journey is going. After all, Saul himself–post Damascus, encourages us to ‘Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.’ (Galatians 6:2), and sharing is a big part of bearing. Who knows, by God’s grace, this road we’re on, that so often seems Damascus bound…it just might end up in Emmaus instead (Luke 24:13-32).
May God bless you and yours always,
Mike
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