In Acts chapter 9 we meet a man named Ananias who is called by God to meet with a man named Saul. Saul is the man who would later go on to be one of the biggest shakers and movers of the New Testament, his name would become Paul. Saul's past made him a figure of fear and sin in the eyes of Christians at the time. Saul was widely known for his vicious treatment and persecution of Christians. Knowing this, when God speaks to Ananias and asks him to seek out Saul and meet with him, Ananias argues with God and basically says, "you must be thinking of someone else", but God tells Ananias, "I am going to do mighty things through Saul, so go". After putting up a fight, Ananias goes.
So what can we learn from Ananias' interaction with God? What does this reveal to us about the character of God? And what does this tell us about the heart of humanity?
It's simple, we struggle with pride while God is sovereign. As Christians, we often look at others and see ourselves as enlightened, we have this all figured out. Yet we view certain other individuals as lost and without hope. There is nothing anyone can do to bring them around to the TRUTH of the Gospel, so we leave them to fend for themselves. The issue with this is that though we focus on the TRUTH of the Gospel, we forget out the GRACE found in the Gospel. We also focus heavily on our judgement instead of the wisdom and discernment of God. At the foot of the cross all sins are weighed equally. Whether it be a liar, a thief, a murderer or an adulterer; we are all seen by God as the same. We are all lost, filthy and broken, in need of salvation and grace. Christ had revealed Himself to Saul on the road to Damascus and transformed Him into a warrior for His Mighty Kingdom. God had chosen Saul to do amazing and incredible things for the Kingdom of God! God is a sovereign God! God is a transformational God!
My question to you is: Who is your Saul? Who have you been arguing with God about sharing the Gospel with?
We all have that individual or those individuals whom we see as beyond salvation, beyond grace. Those people we refuse to make eye contact with or even acknowledge. We have determined that there is no possible way that God would or could use them. The problem with this is simply the fact that WE have made this determination. We fail to see that Christ, throughout His ministry on this earth, had chosen to use those on the margins of society. He used a murderer with a speech impediment to free the Israelites. He used a teenage boy to defeat a giant. He used a traitor to spread the Gospel. God's discernment is so much greater than our judgement.
My challenge to you is to go before God and surrender your judgement for His discernment. Then go find your Saul and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that they may be saved and His Kingdom may be advanced!