And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. ...
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
Acts 3: 2-3, 6-8
There are a couple of things that stand out to me here. The first is that the lame man didn't get what he asked for - he got something better. That happens a lot with God. We, in our finite wisdom or mortal desires, ask for something we want or that we think is best, only to find that God knows our needs better than we do, and He's already preparing something for us that's better than what we asked for. When we pray for a blessing and don't get it, we need to remember that God is a lot more wise, patient, loving, and benevolent than we are. He's not saying "No," because He's mad at us or because He just doesn't feel like blessing us just then. Everything He does is planned to work out for the best good for everyone. If He withholds a blessing from you, or gives you a different blessing than the one you asked for, or answers your prayers in a way that you didn't expect, just know that God knows what He's doing, and be grateful that God has even better blessings ahead than the ones that you asked for.
Another thing that stood out here is that Peter didn't let his inability to give the lame man what he asked for stop him from lending a hand. Sometimes, people ask us to do things that we can't do. Everyone has different talents and resources. Peter couldn't do anything for the lame man financially, but he could still help him in other ways. We can't all do healings. Not all of us have money to spare. And some of us don't even have time or energy to help much, but everyone can do something. Sometimes, we have no more that we can offer but a kind word, a friendly gesture, or a smile, but sometimes that's just what that person really needed. Let the Spirit guide you. When you think there's nothing you can do, you can turn to Him for advice, and a good example.
It occurs to me that there's not a whole lot the Spirit can do for anyone. He has no body that He could use to physically help anyone. He has no material possessions to share. The Spirit often can't do much more than be a voice is someone's head or a feeling in their heart, but He doesn't let His limitations stop Him from doing what He can. He can be the voice of reason, a word of advice, a shoulder to cry on (even without an actual, physical shoulder), a warm feeling of comfort, a light of inspiration, or warning against evil. And He is all that and more. Though there are many things that He can't do, He is always doing what He can.
A third lesson I want to take from this is that when you're happy, be happy! If you've got something to say, say it. If you've got something to do, do it. It usually doesn't matter a whole lot where you are or who may be watching. Don't let others rain on your parade, and especially don't let them make you hesitate from doing what you feel you should. Sure, the temple probably isn't the best place for "leaping," and though praising God is usually a good thing, it didn't seem like he was doing it quietly or reverently. But God had just done something wonderful for this man, and he wanted to thank Him as joyfully and emphatically as he could. I don't think God would fault Him for that. God cares more about people's hearts than their actions (I think), and this man's heart was clearly in the right place. As soon as he was able to move on his own, the first place he went was into the temple. That says a lot about that man and his character. Not that the act of physically walking into the temple means much, but it being the first place he went as soon as he was able - where he went when he wanted to praise God - says a lot about the content of the man's heart.
And a lot of the rules people insist that others follow have more to do with tradition and customs than actually following the example and teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus didn't do a whole lot of shouting or leaping Himself, but I don't think He spoke anything against it. Sometimes we see someone that we don't think is acting the way they should, but it may simply be that we don't understand their situation. We may think that so-and-so should keep his voice down, especially in the temple, but we may not know what it is that he's so excited about. We don't know what's going on in other's lives, so what room do we have to judge them? Anyway, that's my two cents on the subject.
So, those are my handful of thoughts out of those few verses. There are certainly one or two things in there that we could each learn from and apply. Just thought I'd share those insights with you. I hope they do you some good.
No comments:
Post a Comment