Acts 9:17-31
So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened.
For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.
26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
She asked, “Should I put it in for 11 or 22?”
“I think 22 would be better,” came the answer.
It was time to heat something in the microwave. This is a fast method of heating food. We’re talking seconds not minutes most of the time. But this person (real, but not related) had it down to an art. Rather than having to move her finger from the 2 to the 0 on the keypad, she would touch 22. Quicker. More expedient. Same for 11 as opposed to moving all the way from the 1 to the 0 on the microwave keypad.
We live in a microwave world. We want things now. Amazon is even delivering certain things by drone in College Station, Texas – within an hour from being ordered! That’s faster than going to the store! And speed counts. We want our stuff now. I like next day delivery. If I can get it overnight so much the better.
But seldom is this the pathway of faithfulness a quick trip. And our spiritual growth comes over time. Microwave Christianity is likely to be like seed sown in rocky soil: they immediately sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. (Matthew 13:5-6)
Saul is a great example of this. His conversion was sudden and dramatic. His blindness was lifted in one moment, and the next he was baptized. He took food and was strengthened. Next thing you know he’s confounding the Jews in Damascus, proving Jesus is the Christ.
But when he goes to Jerusalem, the pace slows dramatically. The disciples there are not so sure about this new convert. It will take Barnabas to intercede for him, and bring him into the fellowship of the disciples there. Eventually he is brought to Caesarea and then to Tarsus. All this takes time. Fourteen years later (Galatians 2:1) Paul will return to Jerusalem. There is reason to believe that Paul actually did missionary work during those 14 years. But he was surely also being trained, refined, taught, and challenged by God during that time.
Our path of faithfulness may not be as challenging as was Paul’s. But we are called to a long obedience in the same direction, as Eugene Peterson puts it. Following Jesus requires a deepening life of prayer, service, and faith. It’s no microwave process. But Jesus is with us every second along the way.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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