by Britton Cowman
This devotional centers on the passage found in Acts 3, verses 1 through 11. It is the passage where Peter heals the lame beggar at the temple location in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount, specifically at a place called the Beautiful gate.
Verse 1 begins with Jesus’s two powerhouse disciples, Peter and John, ascending the steps and making their way to the temple for afternoon prayers. Why is this important? Because Peter and John were about as opposite as two disciples could be…and since I tend to really take after Peter’s clumsy nature and hot-headedness…I bet you he didn’t take too fondly to John always referring to himself as ‘the disciple that Jesus loved.’ Just saying’.
That they were attending prayers together implies union. This union is especially important as these are still early days following Christ’s resurrection. Usually today, when famous CEO’s leave their companies the company suffers because leadership falls apart and there is in-fighting, struggle for control, loss of direction. Think Ford.
At any rate, the lame beggar asks Peter for some spare change. As these were common prayers, the beggar was positioned well at the temple to catch the most foot traffic.
But Peter exclaims, “Look at us!” What is he really saying? I think he’s saying, “I see you. You are a valuable person. Don’t just ask me for money out of rote habit. Do you really see me? Do you really see my friend, John? Do you know the great man we followed? Do you know we were once beggars at the feet of Jesus?”
If you work in downtown Regina, like I do, you get to know some of the people who are on the streets asking for money. Through my own humble observations here and working in downtown Calgary, I’ve noticed people who ask for money every day do not exert a lot of energy and they typically do not make eye contact. After all, this is a beggar who was lame from birth, whose family brought him here to work – or in this case beg all day – for money for the household.
I’m certain the heavy irony in the beggar being beautiful or this being a beautiful situation at the gate called Beautiful was not lost on the author.
But it becomes beautiful. With a command in the name of Jesus, Peter tells the man to walk. Then Peter goes one step further and helps him up by the hand to his feet. Can you imagine, having never walked in your whole life, taking those first steps, then jumping, then running? Can you imagine the surprise on people’s faces, the booming laughter of Peter’s delight and John high-fiving everyone around?
Because the beggar was lame, he wasn’t allowed into the Temple, as he was considered impure. But now he was pure! Maybe he didn’t know of Jesus before, but now he could listen to the rabbis and ask questions and pray in community. Now he didn’t have to beg and be ashamed of himself and his circumstances. Now everything had changed with one word.
I wonder what one word, if it were to come true, could change my life immediately for the better? While I first gravitated toward a word with a dollar sign in front, I dug beyond my shallowness and came up with a few words. What’s the one word, if commanded, that would change your life for the better today?
