David Bahn – Reflections

Acts 22:12-21

“And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

17 “When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

When it comes to the unexpected, God’s ways are beyond compare. Who would think that a Jewish man, taught by a leading rabbi, once keen on destroying the church, and even watching and approving the death of the first Christian martyr would be a Christian missionary? And as if that’s not enough, he ends up being the premier missionary to the Gentiles?!? Inconceivable! But that’s exactly how God changed Paul’s life, turning him from a Jew’s Jew into the greatest Gentile missionary ever. We might expect to be used by God to do things in keeping with our upbringing and life experiences. Often that is the case. But once in a while God will pull a Crazy Ivan, and recalibrate the course of a life in ways never imagined. A German monk from an obscure village in Germany becomes the center of a religious and cultural revolution. A group of Lutheran Christians in Ethiopia become the hotspot for the growth of the Lutheran expression of the Christian faith in the world. An obscure woman gives birth to a baby in a small village and he – through his shameful death, no less – becomes the center of all history. Paul might well have expected that he could speak to the Jewish people in Jerusalem to convince them to follow Jesus. He knew the way they thought. But God had other plans and would send him far away to the Gentiles. You and I are blessed by that sending. It doesn’t happen often to be sure. Most of us can rest easy in that regard. But it does happen. And when it does, great things happen for the sake of his kingdom. How might God’s plans for your life be dramatically different from what you expect? Is there someone completely unlike you who will cross your path today who will benefit from your witness?