Voice Recognition

“Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”  "Who are you, lord?" Saul asked. 

Acts 9:4b-5 (NLT)

In Philippians Chapter 3, Paul tells us a part of his testimony:

• Raised in the religious community: "I was circumcised when I was eight days old". 
• Part of the most elite and prestigious inner circles: "I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one!"
• Learned and educated in the things of God: "I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law."
• Serious about doing the right things: "I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault."

Yes, Paul had been a deeply religious person. And he knew it. And was proud of it.

But when God (through the person of Jesus) twice called out his name, Paul didn't recognize Him.

Perhaps that is because knowing ABOUT someone, isn't the same as KNOWING someone. I've read lots of biographies, but I would never know the sound of the person's voice until I had actually met them. In the same way, studying the words of God helps me know about God, but it is in knowing Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, that I really come to know God and am able to recognize His voice.