The Beauty and the Beast
Scripture:
And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.
Acts 3:2
Observation:
The picture of a lame beggar sitting at a gate called beautiful must have been quite a site to see. The gate was presumably called beautiful for its beauty. The temple was a picture of wealth and strength for the Jews. Herod had poured so much into the temple that it was magnificent. But outside of the beautiful gate sat a lame beggar, an ugly blemish on this otherwise beautiful gate. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man comes to mind when I imagine this seen from Acts 3. Poverty is sitting at the gates of wealth. Day after day this man sat there begging, so much in fact that everybody recognized him after he was healed as that guy. How could the Jews allow such disparity to sit at the gates of their magnificent Temple, and not be moved to do something about it? Of course they probably tossed him some coins or a little food, but that did not fix the underlying problem. They allowed this man to sit in his condition of poverty right outside of the gates wealth. Peter and John looked at this man and did not just try to pacify him like everyone else; they solved the cause of his problems, the roots of his poverty in the name of Jesus.
Application:
If I were to stand up right now and walk out the front door of the church surely I would see the homeless guy that lives at the corner. Day after day many others and I pass this man sitting there. He is a constant reminder of the poverty that lurks at the gates of wealth. America one of the wealthiest nations on earth has this ugly blemish lurking. A blemish that it tries to cover up like a teenage girl with a blemish on her face. Never fixing the underlying problems that caused this blemish in the first place. How do we see this day after day and not be moved to do something? We have become numb to the site of poverty in our mist; we have become blind to the suffering of others, choosing to pass by without an after thought. Not unlike the priest and the Levite in the parable of the good neighbor in the gospels. We have failed to be the good neighbors. Like Peter and John we have the power in the name of Jesus to solve the underlying problems. Our response may not necessarily a miraculous healing, but nonetheless powerful, because we have the same God working in us today as they did back then. Do we actively try to solve problems in the name of Jesus or do we allow them to just sit as we pass them by or at best just pacify?
Prayer:
Lord, give me your eyes to see the world as you do. Give the confidence to want to make a difference in your name. Cause me not to be one who just passes by or pacifies, but rather one who diligently tries to make a difference in your name. Amen…
And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.
Acts 3:2
Observation:
The picture of a lame beggar sitting at a gate called beautiful must have been quite a site to see. The gate was presumably called beautiful for its beauty. The temple was a picture of wealth and strength for the Jews. Herod had poured so much into the temple that it was magnificent. But outside of the beautiful gate sat a lame beggar, an ugly blemish on this otherwise beautiful gate. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man comes to mind when I imagine this seen from Acts 3. Poverty is sitting at the gates of wealth. Day after day this man sat there begging, so much in fact that everybody recognized him after he was healed as that guy. How could the Jews allow such disparity to sit at the gates of their magnificent Temple, and not be moved to do something about it? Of course they probably tossed him some coins or a little food, but that did not fix the underlying problem. They allowed this man to sit in his condition of poverty right outside of the gates wealth. Peter and John looked at this man and did not just try to pacify him like everyone else; they solved the cause of his problems, the roots of his poverty in the name of Jesus.
Application:
If I were to stand up right now and walk out the front door of the church surely I would see the homeless guy that lives at the corner. Day after day many others and I pass this man sitting there. He is a constant reminder of the poverty that lurks at the gates of wealth. America one of the wealthiest nations on earth has this ugly blemish lurking. A blemish that it tries to cover up like a teenage girl with a blemish on her face. Never fixing the underlying problems that caused this blemish in the first place. How do we see this day after day and not be moved to do something? We have become numb to the site of poverty in our mist; we have become blind to the suffering of others, choosing to pass by without an after thought. Not unlike the priest and the Levite in the parable of the good neighbor in the gospels. We have failed to be the good neighbors. Like Peter and John we have the power in the name of Jesus to solve the underlying problems. Our response may not necessarily a miraculous healing, but nonetheless powerful, because we have the same God working in us today as they did back then. Do we actively try to solve problems in the name of Jesus or do we allow them to just sit as we pass them by or at best just pacify?
Prayer:
Lord, give me your eyes to see the world as you do. Give the confidence to want to make a difference in your name. Cause me not to be one who just passes by or pacifies, but rather one who diligently tries to make a difference in your name. Amen…
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