“‘And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’” (v. 16)

Are you a good friend?

Here’s how you can know:

A good friend guides.

Paul, upon his radical encounter with Jesus, is entrusted to a man of faith in Damascus: Ananias. Now, Ananias had plenty of reasons to be uneasy about Paul’s presence, given the would-be apostle’s history. But Ananias also trusted the God who calls, redeems, and purposes.

So Ananias guided Paul. He clarified Paul’s calling. He cared for Paul’s condition. And—don’t miss this—he urged Paul’s obedience, submission, and testimony unto Christ, specifically in baptism.

That’s a good friend, a guide.

Who had been entrusted to you? Who ought you guide—out of blindness, into truth, and through faithful obedience?

Take them by the hand. Pray for them. And lead them, by the grace you have been given.

— Tyler