The God and His Family Series consists of 16 episodes. In the New Testament, one of the most common descriptions of God and his people is that of a family. This series is designed to talk about that relationship in detail.
Jesus introduced the concept that God is three spirits in one – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. From that terminology, God is a family.
Jesus and the New Testament writers often use family terms to describe the relationship between God and his people. They draw on relationships such as: father, children, sons and daughters, and adopted sons and daughters. These relationships not only imbue privileges, but also confer responsibilities.
It’s hard to see in English but Jesus sometimes refers to God as his Father and sometimes as “Daddy.” Part of the Good News of Jesus is that God can also be our Father and Daddy.
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The early church members were persecuted in Jerusalem, so many of them scattered to other cities where they would be further from the authorities. Some of them landed in Damascus, Syria, about 150 miles away. Saul was a rising star in the Jerusalem leadership and he hated the Christians. He obtained the right to go to Damascus and bring back any Jesus followers as prisoners. On the way, Saul was blinded by the light of Jesus. Jesus sent him to Damascus where he fasted for three days while being blind.
The Lord came to Ananias in a vision and commanded him to go to Saul and heal him from his blindness. Ananias was understandably tentative about going. He reminded the Lord about all the harm Saul had done and the danger he, and the other Christians in Damascus, would be in if Saul was healed. The Lord commanded Ananias to go, he went, Saul was healed and the soon-to-be apostle Paul would change the world. This story of Ananias is told in Acts 9:10-19.
Why did the Lord choose Ananias? Why didn’t the Lord use another person or another method to heal Paul? Why didn’t the Lord use one of the big-named apostles like Peter or John? At least some of the answers might be found in Acts 22:1-21 when Paul is in Jerusalem after his Third Missionary Journey.
