Tuesday, July 28, 2015

We’ve been looking at a conundrum found in Jesus’ teaching about judging others based on Matthew 7:1-6. The conundrum is this, we might be wrong in our judgment of others because we don’t know all the facts. Ananias illustrates this in Acts 9:10-19. He came close to missing a significant miracle God was in the process of accomplishing. God wanted him to be a part of what He was doing, but Ananias had a problem. He knew about a rumor that Saul, who was leading terrorist raids against Christians everywhere, was on his way to Damascus. When God told him to “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying,” Ananias wanted to inform God about what he knew. He wasn’t ready to walk into a trap and be arrested by this man, Saul. But God insisted, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” With this new, clear information, “Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul,’” and then explained what God was in the process of doing in Saul’s life and the mission he was called to enter. I’m sure Ananias was also now aware of what God was doing in his own life. This encounter was the beginning of the rest of the story of how Jesus continued to build His church through unlikely characters like us. Being guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit is the answer to the conundrum of when and where to judge or not judge others.