As mentioned in our previous visit, Stephen never saw the fruit of his witness in the life of Saul. Ananias saw the fruit of his obedience instantaneously. It is good to keep this in mind as we seek to live for God. God knows what He is doing.
He uses one to plant the seed and another to water it. Then He uses another to harvest the fruit of the seed planted and watered. All are important. The one who waters would accomplish nothing if there was no seed in the ground. Planting the seed alone without the watering would not yield the best results. When the seed grows and produces its fruit it would be worthless unless there was someone to harvest it. It would eventually rot in the field.
As we saw, Stephen was a man of God, full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, faith, grace and power. He was Christ centered and Christ like. Ananias is described in Acts 9:10 as a disciple. In Acts 22:12 he is described as “a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living” in Damascus. He was a Messianic Jew. Though at first reluctant to follow God’s request, as a disciple he did acquiesce. In his obedience he became an important link in crystallizing the conversion experience of Saul.
He also articulated God’s commission of Saul, who later became Paul the great apostle. Listen to his call in Acts 22:14-15: “The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One, and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.” What a significant roll Ananias had in Paul’s life.
