Tough Choices

In the Book of Acts, it tells us that Saul the Pharisee was out rounding up Christians to be imprisoned or killed, when God knocked him down and blinded him. Realizing that only God could do that to him, but not understanding why God would (he was, after all, a loyal Pharisee, doing what he believed God wanted him to do), he cried out to God. Saul quickly learned that he was very much on the wrong path, but, God told him that He would send a man named Ananias to set Saul straight. Then, the Bible tells us, God told Ananias to go to Judas' house to share with Saul (not Judas Iscariot, of course, but that can't have been encouraging to Ananias). Ananias reacted pretty much the way most of us would: "Um, God? I don't know if this guy Saul has been operating behind your back, but he's been running around throwing Christians into jail, and having us killed... Wouldn't you rather that I go to Nineveh?" Ananias went to Judas' house expecting, at the very least, a tough sell. But he knew that God had spoken to his heart, and he knew what he had to do (and he wasn't sure that he wouldn't wind up in the belly of a whale if he tried to run away from it). He had every reason to believe that he was going to wind up in prison if he did what God was telling him to do, but he made up his mind that he'd rather be a Joseph than a Jonah. Some part of his mind must have contemplated an escape, even knowing that there is no escape from God.

When Ananias got to Judas' house, though, Saul was blind and badly shaken (I guess losing your eyesight can do that to you). Saul knew that God had sent Ananias, and was ready to listen to whatever Ananias said. I imagine that if Ananias had told Saul to sign over all his worldly possessions and cut off his right arm, Saul would have done it gladly. Ananias preached the gospel to Saul, and Saul accepted it. After that, Saul was known as Paul.

The point is that Ananias had to have felt that he was in a no-win situation. He chose to do the right thing, because he trusted in God, but he didn't see the big picture, and he didn't see the good that would come from what he had been asked to do (yes, God told him that Saul was a 'chosen vessel,' but that doesn't really tell the story of what Apostle Paul went on to do). It can't have been easy for him to go to meet with Saul. Once he got there, everything went smoothly, but he didn't know that it would until he got there. Yes, I understand that the passage makes it sounds like he just waltzed in, placed his hands on Saul, said, "Jesus sent me here to heal you and send you out to preach the gospel!" Think about that for minute. How many people do you know with that kind of faith? Now, I will grant you, it may very well be that Ananias psyched himself up to the point where he was able to appear to be completely unconcerned, but, human nature being what it is, I'll bet that he was still shaking on the inside.

God honored Ananias' faith, and He wants to honor our faith, but sometimes we are going to have to make some tough choices.