I Was Wrong

Years ago, I was in a punk band. One weekend we drove to Atlanta to play a show. The whole trip was a disaster. Our hotel reservation was canceled and we didn't have enough money for another one, a couple of the cars had mechanical problems, and the show itself was a train wreck.
 
Finally, the fiasco weekend was over, and it was time to drive home. As the leader of the band, I was naturally the lead car.
 
I pulled onto the interstate heading north and began cruising. North seemed a little weird to me, because I lived south of Atlanta, but interstates are weird. You can be going north while actually heading south. I ignored my gut for an hour and a half.
 
Now, this was before smartphones. Google Maps came from a printer, and as a broke college student I couldn't afford one of those fancy TomTom GPS units.
 
Then I saw the sign, "Chattanooga Tennessee - 45 Miles." Panic set in. I was supposed to be heading to South Carolina, and I was on my way to the River City of Tennessee. Let’s just say, that’s the exact wrong direction.
 
I immediately pulled over and had to make a confession to everyone following me: "I've been driving the wrong direction for the last hour and a half." It was humiliating, and I hated every moment. Everyone was so mad at me, but we turned around and began going the right way.
 
Maybe you know the feeling. That sinking sensation when you realize you've been confidently moving in the wrong direction. Maybe it was a wrong decision, a wrong assumption, a wrong relationship, or a wrong belief. Whatever it was, there comes a moment when reality catches up to you and you have to admit: I was wrong.
 
Most of us don't like that moment. We avoid it, defend against it, explain it away, or double down rather than admit it.
But one of the surprising lessons from Acts 9 is that following Jesus often begins when we finally admit we're wrong.
This Sunday we're going to meet two men named Saul and Ananias. Both believed they were right, both had deeply held beliefs and assumptions… and both men were wrong.
 
The difference wasn't that they got everything right. The difference was what they did when God showed them they were wrong. They changed.
 
That's good news for people like us. Thankfully, being wrong isn't our biggest problem. Refusing to admit it is.
 
This Sunday we'll see how Jesus transforms a church, a city, and eventually the world through two people who were willing to let him correct their direction. And if we're honest, that's something every one of us needs.
 
Oh yeah! And tomorrow is Father’s Day. Let’s celebrate our dads with a meal after church. It’s going to be amazing!