“Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.””
Acts 9:10-17 ESV
You know I've always loved the story of Saul's conversion. He was so confronted by Jesus that he changed dramatically. I was reading this story last night in my devotions and God pointed out a different piece to the story that I hadn't thought about in depth. What about Ananias?
Here is a believer like me. Seeking to follow God and listening for His voice and then God gave him a direction. A job, a chance to serve. Go and look for a man named Saul.
A man who was evil.
A man who was legalistic.
A man who wanted to kill believers.
A man who needed to know Jesus.
Ananias didn't know that Jesus had already broken Saul. All He knew was God said go and at first he hesitated. Just long enough to be reassured that it was God's plan but still unaware of the outcome. Saul and Ananias weren't alike. They didn't practice their religion the same way or believe the same or look the same or act the same. I'm sure Ananaias was afraid he would die. And yet he went.
He went and showed the most important thing to Saul. He showed the love of Jesus. Saul directly received the wrath and change that a meeting with Jesus could bring but he needed to see the love. He needed the touch of another person to complete the change. To give him new eyes to see.
It made me think of our culture. We are so quick to either judge what we aren't comfortable with or tolerate what we know is wrong. The story of Saul deals with both. Jesus didn't tolerate Saul's sin - He confronted it. And even though Ananias was afraid he still did what God asked and showed love.
Think of how exciting for Ananias to see the fruit of his ovedience years down the road as Paul's ministry helped build the church. We never know what God will do with our obedience. We are just called to go and love.
Every day - live love - live Jesus - live obedient. We may not see the impact but the love we share makes a difference. Be intentional in your relationships and seek God first and don't be afraid to love those we don't understand. God knows and He will be glorified.
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