Thought for the Week

I have favorite Bible characters. Perhaps you do too. One of mine is Ananias. There are several folks with this name and they are not all favorites. Let us call mine, Ananias of Damascus. He was a Believer in and Follower of Jesus. We only see a short picture of him. It appears in the Book of Acts, chapter nine. So far as I know, this is his only appearance in all of Scripture. It is a good one. The one known as Saul of Tarsus was headed for Damascus. He had a vendetta against Believers and Followers of Jesus and had authority from the Chief Priest of the Jews in Jerusalem to go to Damascus, arrest any Jews who had become Followers and bring them to Jerusalem to stand trial for heresy. I am not sure how legal that was according to Roman civil law but according to Scripture it was what Saul wanted and had apparently utilized in order to have people convicted and even executed. Well, according to Scripture, while Saul was traveling, Jesus, the resurrected Messiah, exercised some authority of His own. He brought to bear a brilliant light that blinded Saul. He spoke also, but only Saul seemed able to hear the words asking him, why he was persecuting Believers. Saul, in terror, cried out asking Who He was. Jesus responded, I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting. He then commanded Saul to go into the city and wait for the arrival of a man known as Ananias who would tell him what he needed to know. Saul, who was blinded, obeyed the command. After Saul had found a place of lodging, Jesus spoke to Ananias telling him to go, find Saul, lay hands on him and heal his blindness. Not without some concern, Ananias reminded Jesus of Saul’s reputation and commission to arrest Believers. Jesus gives Ananias some important information: “He is praying (that’s a good sign I think.) and has seen a vision of a man, named Ananias who would come to him and restore his eyesight.” Jesus gives a little glimpse of the future responsibility of Saul. This seems enough to satisfy Ananias and he immediately does what he is asked to do. I find it interesting that upon finding Saul, Ananias addresses his as ‘Brother Saul’, places his hands on his eyes and announces that he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. It happens immediately and something like scales/scabs, fell off Saul’s eyes and Jesus’ prophecy regarding Saul is fulfilled. I like Ananias because he immediately accepts Jesus’ commissioning, goes to find a man who would be his enemy and desiring to have him put to death. He simply accepts Saul as a fellow-Believer and Follower of Jesus. He clearly trusts Jesus with his life. He also clearly accepts another person as a fellow-Believer without hesitation. I want to be like that; to trust and obey Jesus, to be trusting of others without making them prove themselves. I want to be a person whom Jesus can trust without checking to make sure I am willing. I want to be willing to obey Him instantaneously even if what He asks may be scary. Scripture does not record any other events of Ananias’s life but from this one episode, he has become a hero of mine. Certainly, it is good to live a long and faithful life. But if there was only one opportunity to be faithful and obedient to Jesus, I want it to be everything He asks of me, that time and every other time.

Scriptures to Read

Acts 7:48-53

Acts 7:54-8:1

Acts 9:1-6

Acts 9:7-12

Acts 9:13-19

Acts 9:19-22

Acts 9:23-31