Scriptural Reflection: Encouraging the Tanners of Hides (Acts 9-10)

So the scriptural reflection today is on acts 9 through 10, and really just a couple verses about Simon the Tanner, which are so encouraging.

The context is that I'm been going through some fairly deep waters in my life relative to my church relationships and acts 9 and 10 have been incredibly encouraging. I often, per our IMT rules, spend time with the Lord and His word and I've been just very slowly going through acts 9 and 10 because it's just so deeply ministered to me.

Acts 9 starts off with, “meanwhile Saul was uttering threats” and you know the story, he goes to Damascus and he sees the light. And the angel tells him that, “I am Jesus when you're persecuting.” And it goes on to say, “You'll be told what you must do.” And again in the context of my journey, my personal relationship journeys, that's been very meaningful.

But the next piece is in verse 8 of chapter nine. It says, “Saul’s companions let him by the hand to Damascus while he was blind.” And I felt like I so desperately needed my brothers and sisters in Christ, including Bill, my colleagues at IMT, who have helped me out as we've been talking about writing together. He's been helping to hold me by the hand and just walk me through this emotional landmine.

You know the story about him (Paul) and the saints are concerned about him persecuting and the Lord says to those saints, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake.” And so just that reminder – that is a normative part of God's chosen, is that we suffer for Him. And the saints continue to hold his hand, if you will, lower him out of the city in a basket when his life is threatened.

And then he goes to Jerusalem and the Jerusalem saints don't want to deal with him, and again, Barnabas comes and holds his hand, if you will, and takes them to (chapter 29, verse) the apostles. And he has a wonderful relationship there. For a brief period of time, he starts preaching and then they want to kill him, so he gets sent away.

They take him away to Tarsus. And we think that's the start of a 10-year time of him growing and learning and ultimately going to Antioch, before the first missionary journey.

And it says that the church then had peace. And with the saints doing what they do, and holding their brothers and sisters by the hand, they had peace.

And then, during that 10 years (chapter 9, verse 32), it says, “Meanwhile, Peter…” and it starts talking about Peter's story and his healing of Aeneas who was paralyzed for eight years, and raising Tabitha or Dorcas from the dead, and news is spreading and great things are happening.

And then (in chapter 9, verse 42, and in chapter 10, verse 1) after going through this journey it says the news spread around the whole time and many believed in the Lord, thanks to Peter's ministry. And Peter stayed for a long time in Joppa, living with Simon, a tanner of hides.

And it goes on to talk about a Roman officer, Cornelius, who's the captain of the Italian regiment. And praise God for captains, but just this reminder that, what we're all about, and what I'm all about, is encouraging the Simons, the tanner of hides.

Everybody goes to the workplace and there are going to be seasons we're going to wrestle through relationships at church, and seasons of other things, but the heart of what God has called me and I think so many of us to, is just encouraging the Simon, the tanner of hides. They need the encouragement and they do so much in different ways of blessing their communities by tanning hides and then loving and serving people like Peter. But they're just the saints, the working saints who need encouragement.

And this saint brought encouragement to me as I'm getting through the season at church and back into my normal work life, and encouragement of workers to integrate their work in faith. Simon the Tanner of hides was an encouragement to me.