Faith Hero
By Susan Klein
“But the righteous
will live by faith…”
Galatians
3:11b (NIV)
Who
immediately comes to mind when you hear the term “faith hero”? Maybe it’s
Abraham for being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac when told to by God. Or
perhaps Noah. Can you imagine spending years building a large boat for an
impending flood while all your neighbors look on in ridicule? It might even be
someone in your own life who has exhibited great faith. But, I’ll bet it’s not
Ananias!
Ananias
is mentioned in the book of Acts (chapter
9). His whole story only amounts to eight verses. But what a story! He is a
disciple of the Lord in Damascus. Admirable, but not necessarily “hero”
material. We also learn that God spoke to Him in a vision. In fact, He gave him
one very specific assignment: to go find Saul of Tarsus and lay hands on him so
his sight could be restored. Hello?!! We’re talking Saul here. You know, the
guy who just went around killing and imprisoning people who professed to be
Christ-followers. Yeah, that’s the guy. Go “lay hands on him,” and restore his
sight.
Imagine
the scariest, most notorious person you’d ever dread to encounter. That was
Saul to Ananias. Saul ate people like him for lunch! Now, imagine you are told
to go and not only speak to that person, but to actually touch him, and heal
him! Here he is, a mass murderer and you have to aid in his healing so he can
become an instrument of God. Ananias, likely scared out of his sandals,
obediently and faithfully did what God asked of him. He’s a faith hero in my
book.
Okay,
so not many of us are put in positions like that. But what if God asked you to
show kindness to that difficult person who has always belittled or bullied you?
Or, how would you respond if He told you to physically care for that neighbor
who is dying of Aids or alcoholism? Perhaps He’s just telling you to love on
your sometimes unlovable spouse. Like Ananias, it may be the one important
task God has for you to do. Are you willing to obediently take a step of faith,
and by doing so, perhaps be a hero in someone else’s eyes?
GOING
DEEPER:
1.
When was the last time you did something scary/out of your comfort zone that
you felt God calling you to do?
2.
How did you feel afterward? Was your faith strengthened?
FURTHER
READING:
Spend
some time in Hebrews
chapter 11 reading about more faith heroes.
Susan is a We Women
Bible Study Coordinator and one of its teachers. She and her husband Mark enjoy
tutoring and working with inner-city youth.
