You Volunteered Me For What?

Suggested Reading: Acts 9:10-20

My wife and I often give each other a hard time about volunteering each other for different tasks. An event at church needs someone to cook? My wife can do that! Somebody needs musical entertainment or a two-ton piece of furniture moved? Chris can do that. Finding out you've been volunteered for something can be a little annoying, but primarily because we don't ask each other half the time. We typically know what the other will be willing to do and are comfortable volunteering each other, and we are almost always right. Almost always.

Jesus did that same thing to a man named Ananias in Acts chapter 9.  After Jesus confronted Saul on the road to Damascus for persecuting his people, Jesus appeared to Ananias and told him about Saul. Jesus instructed Ananias to go to Saul and added, "In a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so he may regain his sight" (Acts 9:12, HCSB). Right then is when Ananias must have had his you-volunteered-me-for-what?-moment.  Jesus didn't ask Ananias to go to Saul. He just told Ananias that Saul was already expecting him.

Ananias replied, "Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name" (Acts 9:13-14, HCSB).  Ananias knew exactly who Saul was and what he had done; he knew the dangers for a believer who went anywhere near Saul.  But in the end, Ananias went to Saul, restored his sight, and helped Saul begin his transformation into one of the greatest Christian missionaries of all time, as well as the author of half of the New Testament.

How much does this say about Ananias? Jesus vouched for Ananias, volunteered him, knew he would be willing to go before Ananias was ever asked, wagered (depending on how you look at God's foreknowledge) on Ananias' obedience. Can God do that with us? Are we faithful enough that Jesus would be able to vouch for us before we are ever told about the mission? Could he safely place his reputation in our hands and know that we will be faithful to answer his call? Or does our faithfulness depend on how dangerous, public, or difficult the task is? 

How faithful are we to God's call on our lives? Personally, I want to be an Ananias.

Feeding Jesus to the Lions

Suggested Reading: Acts 7:54-8:3, 9:1-9

The lions roared as the crowds yelled and screamed. Eager for the executions to be finished so the games could begin, the masses laughed and jeered as the great cats tore apart their victims, traitors to the empire who dared to believe there was a higher power than Caesar, religious zealots who refused to deny their God even in the face of death. The ragged edges of limbs lay dripping blood on the sand while the wretches from whom they had been ripped cried out in agony until the lions attacked again.

More than a century earlier, the first Christian martyr was killed in a much more personal way. Stephen stood his ground, asking God to forgive his attackers as they hurled stones at him, bruising, piercing and battering him until he finally died. Those who stoned Stephen placed their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul, whose presence legitimized their mob violence, a man who agreed so much with their visceral rage at the Jesus-follower that he obtained authorization to arrest and imprison other Jesus-followers. Those imprisoned would likely be convicted of blasphemy and killed like Stephen.

Where was Jesus when his followers were persecuted, mistreated and murdered? Where was the Savior who had healed the sick, raised the dead, and commanded the forces of nature?  Where was the man who had inspired such devotion by being crucified himself and then rising from the dead?

In Acts chapter 9, Jesus finally confronts Saul about persecuting his followers. How does he identify himself? "I am Jesus the one you are persecuting." (Acts 9:5, NIV)

Every time Jesus' followers were persecuted, every time they were stoned, crucified or thrown to the lions, he was there with them, experiencing every hurt they experienced, identifying with them, standing with them in their pain. When a Christian is persecuted, Jesus himself takes on their hurts and pains. Never does a believer face persecution or hardship without Jesus at his side. Never does Jesus allow his people to suffer alone.  Like the big brother stepping up to his younger sibling's bully, Jesus declares, "When you mess with my people, you mess with me."

If we are to be like Jesus, shouldn't we stand with his followers who are being persecuted? Shouldn't we identify with them, encourage them, and do what we can to end their mistreatment? Jesus gave us the example to follow. Are we willing to follow it?

White-Water Canoeing Up the Road to Hell

Suggested Reading: Acts 9:10-19

When I was in seventh grade, our church youth group went on a white-water canoeing expedition for Spring Break. We drove up river, paired up in canoes, and then started down the river. Most of us had never done this before, but we all seemed to be doing well. Until the rain started. Within a few hours, the river had risen several feet and the rain was still coming down hard. Most of the group reached the camp where we were supposed to stop for the night, but several were still unaccounted for. As the waters continued to rise, a few of our more experienced canoers got back in their canoes and headed up-river to find our missing people. We all knew that setting out, canoeing up-river with the water rising, was not safe. But teenagers were missing in the storm and someone had to go save them. So, even though the men were scared and we were scared for them, they headed out because someone had to save those teenagers lost on the rising river.

Looking at Acts chapter 9, I was reminded of that Spring Break trip by the reaction of Ananias of Damascus. Saul of Tarsus, the nemesis of the early church had been sent to Damascus to arrest and detain followers of Jesus. Without telling Ananias that Jesus had appeared to Saul on the road into town, Jesus appeared to Ananias, telling him to go find Saul and heal his blindness. Oh, and Saul already knew he was coming.  "But Lord," Ananias exclaimed, "I've heard people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name"(Acts 9:13-14, NLT).  With some pretty good justification, Ananias was scared to death of walking right into Saul's hands.  But going to Saul was an important task. Saul needed someone to open his eyes, both literally and figuratively. And so, even though it scared him to death, Ananias went.

We understand the urgency of saving people who are in danger, of sending rescuers into burning buildings to save children from fires and of searching for teenagers lost on raging rivers when the water is rising. We understand that urgency and we commit ourselves to action because, even though we might be scared, something has to be done. But far too often, we fail to apply that same urgency and commitment to reaching the lost, in spite of the fact that the consequences can be even more significant.

Every day we see people living without hope, never living out the potential with which they were designed to live in Christ. We see people who are either casually strolling or running at full speed down the road to Hell, people in desperate need of forgiveness and purpose. Yes, the idea of sharing the Gospel with them may be a little scary, but we wouldn't let fear stop us if there were children drowning in a river or standing in front of an oncoming car. Why would we allow fear to keep us from sharing the Gospel with people in need of rescue from Hell? Do we hold back simply because the danger doesn't seem as immediate?

Bravery isn't the lack of fear but the ability to do what is necessary in spite of fear. Isn't it about time we put a little bravery back into sharing the Gospel?

Murder With Good Intentions

Suggested Reading: Acts 9:10-24 (Optional, additional reading John 16:1-4)

When the DC Comics heroine Black Canary first arrived in the Superman TV series Smallville, she was working for the evil Lex Luthor, trying to take down a group of superheroes she was told were terrorists. She was ruthless and relentless in her pursuit of these men, wrongly believing them to be villains. Black Canary didn't believe anyone deserved to be terrorized and thought she was doing the right thing.

In some ways, Black Canary was doing the same thing as a group of Jews who plotted to kill the newly converted Saul of Tarsus in Acts chapter 9. We're told, "After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill [Paul]. They were watching for him day and night at the city gate so they could murder him, but Saul was told about their plot" (Acts 9:23-24, NLT).  Normally when I read these passages, I just shake my head and wonder how these people could be so evil. But the last time I read it, I was reminded of Jesus' promise in John 16:2: "The time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God" (NLT). 

Sometimes, it is easy to demonize those who oppose us, believing they must be evil or stupid. But some of the worst atrocities in human history have been committed with good intentions. Thousands upon thousands of people have been killed by murderers who thought they were doing the right thing. The reputations of innocent people have been destroyed so that others wouldn't listen to and be influenced by their "evil" opinions.

But while I think it is important to understand people's "good" motivations for things that are wrong, it is more important to examine our own lives to make certain that we are not glossing over our own wrongs because our intentions or motivations are good.  How often do we decide that a little lie is the "right thing to do" in a particular circumstance? How often do we trample on another person's rights because we believe they would misuse them? How often do we condone sinful behavior because we want to be nice or understanding?

Doing the wrong thing for a good reason is still doing the wrong thing. Let's not give ourselves a break for bad behavior just because we have "good" motives.