Acts 9:15(NLT)
“But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.”
When I was in high school, I really liked a very handsome boy whose brother had a reputation in our town. Equally handsome, his older brother was known for dating several women at the same time. Well, this boy became my boyfriend and one Saturday, he asked me to go to church with him the following Sunday. He was two years older than me and the most popular boy in school. He was not only popular but also talented, and so were his other brothers. I was so in love with him that I couldn’t see straight. I hadn’t gone out with anyone unchaperoned, and if it had been any other place than church, I knew my dad would object, but it was ‘church!’ I was so convinced that my dad would let me go that I got up very early to get dressed and fix my hair. I collected all the pluses of my selling pitch. I then stood before my dad trying to bridle my excitement and asked if he would allow me to attend church with this young man. Without hesitation, he vehemently and immediately hurled, “ABSOLUTELY NOT! It’s no way my daughter is going out with a boy like that.”
Needless to say, I was devastated. To this day, I remember how sweet this guy was. He made me laugh all the time, and we had so much fun together. My father had assumed the worst of him because of what he had heard about his brothers. People pass judgement on others for various reasons. They place them in a box in their minds, and this is a very unfair thing to do.
Jesus was raised in Nazareth and known as a carpenter’s son. After he began his ministry, Matthew 13:54(NLT) says, ““He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?”” They were surprised that one of their own had stepped outside the box of their constraints and was doing something extraordinary. There are individuals today that will witness someone familiar to them exceeding their expectations of what is possible, and they will become very discomforted by this. It is because this forces them to look at their own refusal to step outside the boundaries of what they believe is possible. Faith will always and forever push us, and rather than moving with faith’s momentum, many people become resentful and cling even tighter to doubt.
We cling to what is familiar, and sometimes this practice robs us of the best life has to offer. After everyone in Jesus’ hometown witnessed his amazing teaching and power, they said to themselves in Matthew 13:55-56 (NLT), “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” They allowed their limited mindset to cause them to dishonor Jesus, and because of this, they allowed the devil to rob them of the priceless treasures Jesus wanted to give them. Matthew 13:58(NLT) says, “And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.”
The Apostle Paul’s birth name was Saul. In Acts 9:15, after he had been converted, Heavenly Father instructed Ananias, a believer, to go lay hands on Saul, whose name was later changed to Paul. Ananias was skeptical because he knew Saul, and that Saul had sorely persecuted believers for following the Way. Ananias questioned God because he was holding to what he knew of Saul’s past. He had boxed him in to be one thing, but God told Ananias that he had to abandon this box that he had labeled for Saul. It had to be totally obliterated, because Saul was God’s CHOSEN instrument to minister the Gospel of Christ to many people.
God saw Saul for who he truly was, the Apostle Paul, a great teacher of His Word who would cause the Gospel of Jesus Christ to widely spread. Many of us can be the same way as the people of Nazareth and Ananias. We can hold to viewpoints and perspectives that are predicated on what a person has done in the past. We pigeon hole ourselves in this same way. God created us to be spiritual beings with a soul, housed in a body. We have the wonderful ability to adapt and change through God’s Word, so that we become who He wants us to be and transform from who we used to be. We must leave the past in the past, and not allow anything to limit our view of others or the extraordinary futures we all have in Christ. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Out of the Box” written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.