Transformed – teen devotion – May 4, 2025

One key truth: Jesus’ love and grace pulls us out of the dark side—and gives us a fresh start.

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. 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.
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
Acts 9:1-5, 19-22

Dark Side vs. Light Side

Say, “May the 4th be with you,” and all good Lutherans respond with, “And also with you.” We might see the Star Wars saga differently depending on when we first watched it, but the message of light vs. dark never gets old.

If you’re not familiar, George Lucas released the original Star Wars movies back in the late 1970s and early 80s—those were Episodes 4, 5, and 6, with classic special effects (think less CGI, more creativity). Then in the late 90s and early 2000s, we got the prequels—the origin story of Darth Vader—complete with heavy CGI and the infamous Jar Jar Binks. Finally, in the last decade, the sequel trilogy dropped, blending modern effects with a throwback vibe to the originals.

Ask your parents who likely were teenagers themselves while watching the “ending” episodes of Star Wars before the “beginning” ones. But now, with streaming, you can watch all nine movies in order—from Episode 1 to 9—and see the full journey of characters choosing between the light and dark sides. It’s all mapped out.

If only real life worked that way.

In Acts 9, we meet Saul—a guy fully on the dark side. He was literally on his way to hunt down Christians. But Jesus showed up, struck him blind with a light way brighter than a lightsaber, and flipped his whole life around. Saul became Paul, and his path shifted completely—from hurting people who followed Jesus to helping more people find Jesus.

As teens, you’re faced with choices every day—it can seriously feel like a battle between the dark and light sides. Maybe some of you have made choices you regret, things you wish you could undo or hope no one ever finds out about.

Here’s the good news: your story isn’t over. You’re still in the middle of your own plot. We don’t know exactly what’s coming next, but we know who’s in control of it. Just like Paul got a second chance, you do too. The cross gives us the ability to see beyond the darkness—to know that no matter what we’ve done, or how dark things feel, God’s love is the main storyline of your life—and that never changes.

Prayer:
Lord, life can get really dark sometimes. Help me follow your light and see you clearly, even when things are hard. Amen.