We all know the story of the conversion of the Apostle Paul – how he was a rabid persecuter of those who followed the Way (Christianity), until his fateful encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. However, who we often forget about is the simple disciple named Ananias, whom God chose to be the instrument of Saul’s healing and the one to lay hands on Saul, sahring the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Where would we be without Ananias and his faithful obediance? For starters, we would not have the Apostle Paul. Sure, God could have reached Paul with another person, but he chose to reach him with Ananias. Without Paul, we miss a huge chunk of the New Testament writings, as well as our model for effective missions and church planting. We have all of this because God chose to use Paul as an instrument. But, before God used Paul, He used Ananias to reach Paul.
Most of us will never be anything like an Apostle Paul – planting churches across the globe, writing treatise on theology, or preaching to the most influential people of our day. However, ANY one of us can be like Ananias. If we are just faithful to share the gospel with those wohme God places before us, who knows if God will chose to use one of us to reach the next Paul? Obedience is everything!
