And many, even when they heard he was converted, could
not believe the story. And even Ananias, when told by God Himself that
the converted persecutor was praying, could not get over his fears and
suspicions all at once. When God said, "Go, and help the poor man,"
Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil
he hath done to Thy saints at Jerusalem." But the Lord said unto him,
"Go thy way, haste to his help, for he is a chosen vessel unto Me, to
bear My name before the Gentiles, and to kings, and to the children of
Israel." At last Ananias went his way, and visited the praying penitent.
But even after this, when Paul had been preaching for some time with
great success, and had made the greatest sacrifices, and braved even
death itself, in the cause of Christ, there were numbers who doubted his
sincerity. "When he went to Jerusalem, and attempted to join himself to
the disciples, they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he
_was_ a disciple." Barnabas however, good man, took him by the hand, and
succeeded at length in obtaining for him, to some extent, the advantages
of Church fellowship.
Here then we have a couple of lessons; the first is, to seek the
conversion of unbelievers; the second is, to guard against an excess of
skepticism in ourselves with regard to the sincerity of those who appear
to be converted.
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