our daily bread

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Dexu Xia

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Dec 13, 2017, 1:59:44 AM12/13/17

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Unexpected Grace

In a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight. Acts 9:12

It was an early Saturday morning in my sophomore year of high school, and I was eager to get to my job at the local bowling lanes. The evening before, I had stayed late to mop the muddy tile floors because the janitor called in sick. I hadn’t bothered to tell the boss about the janitor so I could surprise him. After all, What could go wrong? I thought.

Plenty, as it turns out.

Most people know they’re messed up. Instead of lectures, they need a hope for redemption.

Stepping in the door, I saw inches of standing water, with bowling pins, rolls of toilet paper, and boxes of paper scoresheets bobbing on top. Then I realized what I had done: While doing the floors, I had left a large faucet running overnight! Incredibly, my boss greeted me with a huge hug and a big smile—“for trying,” he said.

Saul was actively punishing and harassing Christians (Acts 9:1–2) when he came face to face with Jesus on the road to Damascus (vv. 3–4). Jesus confronted the soon-to-be-called apostle Paul with his sinful actions. Blinded by the experience, Saul/Paul would need a Christian—Ananias—to restore his sight to him in an act of courage and grace (v. 17).

Both Saul and I received unexpected grace.

Most people know they’re messed up. Instead of lectures, they need a hope for redemption. Stern faces or sharp words can block their view of that hope. Like Ananias, or even my boss, followers of Jesus must become the face of grace in these life-changing encounters with others.

A Christian’s grace-filled actions can smooth someone’s path to the Savior’s presence.

意想不到

又看见了一个人，名叫亚拿尼亚，进来按手在他身上，叫他能看见。-使徒行传9章12节

那是我高二的某个星期六清晨，我急切地回到当地的保龄球馆做我的兼职工作。前一天晚上，我为了清洗肮脏的瓷砖地板而待到很晚，因为清洁工请了病假。我想要给老板一个意外惊喜，所以并未告诉他清洁工请假的事。心里想着：反正也不可能会出什么岔子！

结果，一团糟！我一进到保龄球馆，看见到处积满了水，四处漂浮着保龄球瓶、卫生纸和好几箱记分纸。这下我才惊觉自己做的好事：昨晚洗了地后，我竟然让水龙头的水流了一整晚！但意想不到的是，老板竟微笑着给了我一个拥抱，他说：“你的努力值得嘉奖！”

当扫罗往大马色去，在路上遇见耶稣的时候（使徒行传9章3-4节），他正积极地迫害基督徒（1-2节）。耶稣质问这位将要成为使徒的保罗，为何大肆逼迫基督徒。扫罗或称保罗因这经历而失明，过后一位名叫亚拿尼亚的基督徒，以充满勇气和恩慈的举动，帮助他恢复视力（17节）。

扫罗和我都领受了那份意想不到的恩慈。

许多人都知道自己的生活是一团糟，他们所需要的并非训诲，而是救恩的盼望。严厉的面孔或苛刻的言词，都会阻碍他们看见这样的盼望。身为基督徒的我们，可以像亚拿尼亚和我老板一样以恩慈待人，或许能为他人的生命带来亮光。