"So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, "Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."" Acts 9:17
Ananias called Saul, 'Brother'. That is amazing. Saul had wreaked havoc on the church and persecuted so many souls that, for Ananias to called him 'Brother', is remarkable.
Yes, Jesus had given him the 'Don't argue', but it is still one thing for Ananias to go and lay hands on Saul as commanded, but another thing altogether to call him a brother.
When we are in the business of serving Jesus we are brothers and sisters irrespective of our past. There are few more pointed examples in history of this than that of Ananias and Saul. It called for Ananias to forgive immediately, without having any evidence of contrition from Saul, the sins that Saul had committed against the church, as heinous as they had been.
Forgiveness is not hard until a great crime has been committed against us. Under those circumstances forgiveness really becomes evidence of God's grace.
Lord, help me to have a forgiving heart, one that is an example of the power of your grace.
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