Mars Hill STEP OUT TO EMBRACE NEWCOMERS 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.” 11 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, 12 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.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 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. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 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.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. Acts 9:10–19 No one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy and grace. God is not limited by the sins we’ve committed, our opposition to the gospel, or how old we are. He is more than able to change our life in Christ. Sometimes we as the church are reluctant to reach out to those beyond the comfort of our four walls or even accept those with a checkered past as brothers and sisters in Christ. But in this week’s passage, we observe a great example of how Christians can accept those outside the faith in addition to the church’s role in discipling believers. Ananias makes a cameo appearance in the book of Acts here and elsewhere. While in Damascus, the Lord appeared to him in a vision and asked him to “lay his hands on [Saul] so that he might regain his sight” (Acts 9:2). In response, Ananias rightfully expressed concerns because Saul had been laying hands on Christians, not to pray for them but to arrest them (Acts 9:13–14). God confirms his request and clarifies for Ananias that Saul is his chosen instrument to share the gospel with the “Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). As an expression of faith and trust in God, Ananias went to Saul, prayed for him, and God fulfilled his promise by giving Saul his vision back. All of us can sympathize with Ananias and why he was reluctant to approach Saul—he was a persecutor of Christians. Though many of us will never wrestle with the tension created by welcoming into the body of Christ a former persecutor of the church, most of us will wrestle with welcoming new believers into the church. They act, speak, and dress differently from those of us who have matured in Christ for years. But like Ananias and the early church, we too need to be prepared to embrace those new to the faith and recognize God’s power to save and transform even those most opposed to him. Although our faith in Jesus is an individual decision, we as the church play an important role in reaching and discipling people.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 07:42:15 +0000