A reluctant mentor
When I think of convoying, coming alongside as a guide and caring for the people God has placed in my life, my mind immediately goes to my wife, my kids, my co-workers, and my friends. I think that's valid and I would never want to neglect those closest to me. But the challenge that Carl Kimbro laid before us this month has gotten me thinking: What if God is arranging some divine appointments to bring someone unexpected into my comfortable little world?
It reminds me of Ananias. If you don't remember his story, it's probably because he is a relatively minor character in the pantheon of personalities found in scripture. If you were making a movie about the life of Saul of Tarsus, Ananias would appear in a couple of back-to-back scenes, then disappear.
The story begins with someone you would never expect to be reachable with the gospel, an accomplice in the first recorded incident where a Christ-follower was executed for his faith....
... they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him (Stephen), dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. -Acts 7:57-58 (NIV)
Saul, vehemently zealous for the Jewish social, political, and religious structure, stepped up his persecution game following that event....
But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. -Acts 8:3 (NIV)
Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. -Acts 9:1-2 (NIV)
But inexplicably, this man had been chosen by God, Who met Saul on the road to Damascus, convicting him of his error. And in Damascus, we meet Ananias....
The Lord told him (Ananias), “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” -Acts 9:11-12 (NIV)
Not that Ananias was terribly excited about his opportunity to play an important role in the expansion of the early church....
“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” -Acts 9:13-14 (NIV)
God refused to take "No" for an answer. He had already done the heavy lifting, and just needed someone to take delivery of this package. Ananias had been chosen as the receiver....
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles...." -Acts 9:15 (NIV)
Ananias was obedient....
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized.... -Acts 9:17-18 (NIV)
The rest, as they say, is history. Saul got a name change to go with his life change, and became Paul. As Paul, he traveled throughout most of the known world of that time on three mission trips. He established multiple churches along the way, molded multiple young Christians into leaders of the early church, and managed to author about 28% of what became the New Testament canon.
I don't know whether God has placed a Saul in my path. But I know that the Spirit still does some amazing work in some pretty unexpected places. Ananias did not consider himself special, but he was committed to obey. Will the same be said of me?