Being Available to God: Acts 9:10

So we already know that Saul/Paul was a zealot in regards to the Torah (Old Testament). However, he was caught up in believing the various commentaries by Rabbis of the past. He knew the Scriptures, but he couldn’t see how they related to Jesus the Messiah. He thought that the very idea that Jesus could be the Messiah was going against the Scriptures.

Then Saul met Jesus while he was on his way to arrest Christians in Damascus. This encounter profoundly affected Saul’s ideas about what was right and wrong about Jesus and the Scriptures. He was blinded and heard Jesus’ voice telling him what to do. After three days had passed, with Saul still blind, God sent a man to Saul to further explain the way of the gospel of Christ.

This man was Ananias. Ananias was described in Acts 22;12 as “a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there [Damascus].” Ananias was also a devout zealot of the Torah. Ananias was a man to whom Saul could relate. Ananias had the “credentials” required for ministering to Saul in a way that Saul would appreciate and be willing to listen.

I don’t think every believer needs to have “credentials” i.e. college education, years of Bible education, to witness to another person, even one “above” them in stature, but I do think we need to be sensitive to the preparedness of their hearts and minds. Saul was prepared to listen to Ananias because he had been praying and hoping for some instruction. God provided a learned man to give Saul the instruction he needed to become a full-fledged follower of Jesus Christ.

There are a couple of lessons for me in this passage. First, would I be identified as someone who is “devout by the standard of the Law? And would I be characterized as being well spoken of by those to whom I was trying to witness? Second, am I prepared and listening to God to be of service to Him, and open to sharing the gospel message with whomever God places in my life? It doesn’t matter what my schooling, or my status in life: am I willing to share Christ as I go about my daily life? All these questions need some pondering and praying about. And I need to open my heart and spirit up to God’s directions in my life and be willing to serve Him however He directs.