Safety, Fifth (?)

Text:  Acts 9:10-15 - And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him, said the LORD in a vision, 'Ananias.' And he said, 'Behold, I am here LORD.' And the LORD said unto him, 'Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus; for behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias, coming in, and putting his hand on him that he may receive his sight.' Then Ananias answered, 'LORD, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to Thy saints at Jerusalem:  And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on Thy name.'  But the LORD said unto him 'Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

Naturally, from the moment we are born, we lean hard toward comfort, and self-preservation, facing the new world with all of its lights, and sounds, odd-moving things.  Everything is a shock, and nothing is familiar, even that thing called a 'breath of air'.  Blindly grabbing and kicking, and crying, something that feels right is desperately sought. Then, enter the mama, and all immediately becomes better, safe.  As we grow we discover the highly used 'No', 'Stop', and 'Don't', as we increasingly engage a world with seen and unseen dangers and threats.  We find helmets to ride a bike, seatbelts to go in the car, homes with locks and security systems, 'Beware of dog' signs replacing welcome mats, dozens of different types of karate, and nutrition labels informing us of the salt content of food.  We have fire extinguishers everywhere, firewalls in our computers, and fire stations not too far away.

One of my favorite shows, 'Monk', has as its theme song, 'It's A Jungle Out There', and so it seems. We have laws, police, and courts to protect us from us, and armies and navies and air forces to protect us from others, as well as Homeland Security, the CIA, and the FBI.  Eden is long gone. It is a jungle out there!

Now, Ananias is no stranger to the idea of danger, and we know, with our Bibles open, that the world and its' folk are not all nice.  Ananias, as a disciple, would know of Jesus' crucifixion, of the push of Rome, and the pull of certain religious leaders, and the fairly fresh event of Stephen's execution, done likely with the 'blessing' of Saul, whom he is to meet and pray for.  His reluctance has him doubting of the vision he had, briefly, but obedience wins out.
Here we are reminded that God's ways are definitely not like our ways.  Furthermore, we can say that while a walk of LOVE and HOLINESS is a fundamental calling for every believer, neither love, nor holiness are necessarily 'safe'.

The world and the devil are opposed to our being like Jesus, as darkness does not take well to light, and so our stepping out in obedience, in faith, is offensive.  We may even have conflict within our own selves facing this reality, much as Ananias had.  His deciding to be faithful has given his story a unique place in our Bibles [and in our own story] as the one who witnessed to Saul, later to become Paul, apostle to the Gentiles.  The Church indeed is indebted to this one called Ananias, whose faithfulness then, reasonably allows him to be appreciated today as the apostle to Saul of Tarsus.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, should my obedience, my faithfulness, be at the expense of my own safety, please lead me, allow me clarity, and allow me to feel your presence going forth.  This world is not a friend to me, as I respond to 'be holy, as your Father in heaven is holy' [Matthew 5:48].  To 'Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, and mind.' will not endear me to this world.  [Matthew 22: 37,39] Neither will the world want me to 'Love my neighbor as myself.'  However, Your will be done.  And while this is impossible on my own, with You all things are possible! [Matthew 19:26]  Help me to remember this.  In Jesus' name. Amen.

(by Dr. McNeal Brockington)