Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man (Saul), how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for Saul is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; (Acts 9:13-15)
There is a saying that “you should never judge anyone by the worst thing they have done.” But when someone has a track record of extended bad behavior, it is hard to give them a fresh look. After all, there is also a proverb that says, “Fool me once, shame on you. But fool me twice, shame on me.” In other words, we do learn from our experience and repeatedly getting scammed or mistreated by the same person for the same things is eventually just foolish!
So when the Jewish leader named Saul (who we know better by his Roman name which is Paul) needs to be healed by Ananias, Ananias is rightfully concerned that this may not be a good idea. Saul has meant a lot of suffering for the followers of Jesus. Maybe leaving him in a state of blind dependence would be a better idea!
But God presses Ananias to heal Saul. God has a new idea for how Saul can be useful and it includes stopping persecuting Jesus’ followers and instead, traveling around with the same passion and energy to promote Jesus! Ananias bravely agrees to God’s request and the work of the most prominent early missionary begins.
This is a good reminder to all of us that we may be too quick to judge others (and even our own self) and deem that someone is inadequate and not able to be useful to God. But sometimes, when a deep and meaningful transformation happens, the new person may be more useful to God’s work because of their tarnished past. If God can change the worst about us and our lives show the power of that transformation, that shows others the power of God in a way that mere words with no backstory may not be able to do.
So, be open to listening to the stories of others who you may be too quick to judge. God may be up to something in and through them that you may miss if you judge too soon! And be open to God’s work of new life happening in you and tell others about how Jesus has changed you. It may make a difference in how you see yourself and others, and how others see the grace of God made real in the lives of God’s people in Christ.
