Ananias & Sapphira
Bible Reference: Acts 5:1-11
I had worked with Peter in the church as long as I can remember. I had always loved the gentle yet firm way he preached to the Gentiles. There was one incident that taught me the words: God Sees Everything. This happened around twenty-five years ago, when I was still a young man. One of my friends, who was also working with Peter, had said to me that day, “Guess what? I just heard that that rich guy, Ananias, and his wife Sapphira recently sold their land, and that they are giving it all to the church!”
“Wow!” I had thought. “People like Ananias and Sapphira are surely servants of God. Not everyone would have that much to the church.” Many others in the church were also amazed, and had applauded for the couple. But when I saw Peter’s face, it had a frown on it, and I couldn’t guess why. Later that evening, I asked him. All he said was, “We’ll see tomorrow. Only time can prove it.”
The next day, I hurried to church, where Peter and Ananias were speaking. I was excited in meeting Ananias, but Peter was talking to him, and so I stayed quiet. “Ananias,” Peter was asking, “how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied and kept back part of the money? For you have not lied to men, but to God.” Instantly, Ananias fell to the ground. I had never seen anyone die that fast before. It was as if the Lord had struck them down. Now I know that it was God who did it.
“Bury him,” Peter said calmly. My friends and I rushed forward and carried Ananias’ body away to a cemetery. As I was dumping dirt on his body in his grave, I was afraid. “For you have not lied to men, but to God,” Peter’s words echoed in my head. Lying to God brought terrible consequences, I decided. As I was pondering these things, my friends and I returned to the church. As I opened the door, I heard Peter say, “Is that really the price you and Ananias got for the land?” I looked inside just as I heard Sapphira’s voice answer, “Yes.”
Firmly, Peter replied, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look,” Peter continued, pointing to me, “the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also. With that, Sapphira, too, dell down dead. The other young men and I moved forward without being told to, and wrapped her body in linen. We brought her to the hole my friends had made next to Ananias’ grave, and placed her in it.
Not surprisingly, the whole church knew what had happened by the following day. Everyone trembled in fear when they heard about it. I was afraid too, but more out of respect and awe for the God who had done unbelievable things like this. That day, I learned that God sees everything, and He has a time when He will punish those evildoers.
I am already very aged now, but I still remember every vivid detail of it. I will never forget what happened that day-it taught me a whole bunch of new things.
Words: 552
1. I chose this story because it isn't as well known as other Bible stories, but is just as important because it teaches us many important lessons, such as, "God sees everything." I chose to include everything because each detail was important. I chose his character because even though his name isn't mentioned, he has the main view of what's happening, and it is easier to imagine what he is thinking while Ananias and Sapphira died. I decided to make the moral connected to what the main character learned. (Before, he didn't know that actually, Ananias and Sapphira were lying, but only Peter knew.)What I like about my story is that I could write it as if I was really there.
2. The most difficult part in writing this was choosing the main character I would be in the story. I couldn't choose Ananias because when he died, the story wasn't complete yet. I couldn't choose Peter because Peter already knew the truth from the start, and I wanted to convey a moral learned by the character. I finally chose to be one of the "young men who buried Ananias and Sapphira", because I could imagine that if I were him, I would have thought a lot about what happened.
3. What I enjoyed about writing this story was creating the parts where there are speeches. I also liked describing Peter, and making up some parts to make it relate more to us. For example, even though it didn't say in the Bible, "The church rejoiced and praised Ananias and Sapphira for giving money to the church," I can imagine that of course the people who believed in Ananias and Sapphira would have applauded for their "generosity." I also enjoyed thinking of the moral.
2. The most difficult part in writing this was choosing the main character I would be in the story. I couldn't choose Ananias because when he died, the story wasn't complete yet. I couldn't choose Peter because Peter already knew the truth from the start, and I wanted to convey a moral learned by the character. I finally chose to be one of the "young men who buried Ananias and Sapphira", because I could imagine that if I were him, I would have thought a lot about what happened.
3. What I enjoyed about writing this story was creating the parts where there are speeches. I also liked describing Peter, and making up some parts to make it relate more to us. For example, even though it didn't say in the Bible, "The church rejoiced and praised Ananias and Sapphira for giving money to the church," I can imagine that of course the people who believed in Ananias and Sapphira would have applauded for their "generosity." I also enjoyed thinking of the moral.
