There is no doubt that the account of Ananias and Sapphire is a strange story. Why would Luke under the inspiration of God include this story in the New Testament? I don't know the mind of the Lord... still there is much in this passage.
For starters, I turn to the end, to see what message Luke is sending through this account. Verse 11 is the wrap-up. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. Whatever I learn from this passage, one thing is for certain, God is to be feared. God is supreme.
We talk about how God knows everything. For Ananias and Sapphire this is no longer an abstract truth. They found out the hard way, when they lied to the church and to God.
Already my thoughts are percolating... since God knows everything, God knows when I have lied, taken credit for things I don't deserve, and tried to hide bad things I have done. Their fate could have been mine! A measure of fear sets in...
I wonder what it must have been like for Peter to be given the revelation and then watched those two from the flock drop dead? One thing I respect with Peter is his honesty in delivering the word God had given him. At least for me confronting others does not come easily. And I have never had such a dire word!
I circle back to the fear of God. Do I give God the honor reserved only for God? Have I become so 'familiar' with God that I have lost appropriate 'fear' of God?
This account stirs up yearning in me... yearnings to know God more and more fully as live marches on.
I sit quietly before You Lord. Show Yourself to me... I pray in Jesus name. Amen.
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