As I reflect on the first reading two questions came to my mind: ‘How do we see God’ and ‘How does God see us?’ We tend to forget that even before the world began, God knew us and had a plan and a purpose for our lives. Like Saul, according to our human understanding and reasoning, we make choices and try to implement them by our strength but end up in failure. While God was leading Saul to repentance and awaken- ing his spirit to the truth, God was also using Ananias to anoint Saul for a mission which changed the history of the world.

Ananias too had his judgemental understanding of Saul but God saw a strong and a courageous man within Saul. The bigger picture of God has begun to unfold. Persecution, suffering and a painful death were also part of his mission but Paul was fully convinced of what the Lord expected of him. When reading Paul’s letters we see how joyfully and willingly he embraced this call and how he boasts of this encounter with the Lord in many instances.

PRAYER: Abba Father, your plan for our life is always the best. Help us to listen to your voice for guidance. Amen.