Difficult Things in the Bible (Pt. 3)

17 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.” Acts 9:17

After several successful attempts kidnapping his girlfriend, Mario does the unthinkable. He invites Bowser, the tyrant, to his go kart tournament. Mario Kart is the first game to let you play as the evil princess stealer.  Is Mario being the bigger man and giving Bowser a second chance, or is he too blind to read the room?

Ananias had a similar situation. Saul of Tarsus made his career sentencing Christians to their death. He was the number one threat of the fellowship. When Jesus literally knocked him off his high horse and blinded him, Saul became Paul the Christian. Now Ananias needed to meet Paul and pray for him to be healed.

Extending grace and love toward a hostile enemy is illogical and unthinkable, but it is one of the most unique traits to following Jesus. Ananias needed to bite the bullet and heal a potentially dangerous man.

The Checkpoint cautions anyone against putting themselves in harmful situations when dealing with dangerous people, but we are called to treat our enemies with dignity, respect, and kindness. This can look like giving a gift to a critic, or praying for a rude person. The point of loving your enemy is mimicking Christ’s fearless love reaching out to us sinners.

Figure it Out

15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.

17 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.”

  1. Circle the words or phrases that stood out to you. What makes them significant?
  2. What did Ananias have to trust in order to heal Paul?
  3. How do you think Paul felt being ministered to?

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