Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

Nine Meditations on the Man we Named our First Born Son After

8. Ananias was a man of good reputation

Growing up I had a very close relationship with my mother and father. From time to time when dad needed to teach me something we would have what he called a “daddy talk.” One of the life lessons he taught me in those ‘daddy talks’ was how to be a man of good reputation. He told me over and over, “Clint your reputation walks way out in front of you.” Apparently that was true of Ananias as well. When Paul is sharing his testimony he says that Ananias was “a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there…”  This reminds me of Peter’s exhortation to “keep your conduct among the gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (2 Peter 2:12)

Nias,

I pray that you would be a man that has a reputation of loving God and loving others ‘walking way out in front of you’, for the Glory of the one who walked in your place, died your death and rose for your life.