Acts 3:1-2 – One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.
“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.” As was the Jewish custom they were going to the temple to pray. Devout Jews had three times a day that they would stop everything and pray. Hmm, how many times a day do we stop to pray? Yes, perhaps they did it out of duty, from works. But if we truly love the Lord shouldn’t we be stopping and praying and thanking the Lord at least three times a day. Isn’t love a more powerful motivator than the law? The Word says that that we should be rejoicing in the Lord always, praying continually and giving thanks in all circumstances because that is the will of God for us in Christ Jesus our Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We should not mistake this as a suggestion, but, as these verses state, it is the will of God for our lives and so we who love God will consider it a command to us. All who love God live to please Him choose to obey Him (John 14:15, 15:14).
“Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.” This man was lame from birth. From V7 we know that he had a problem with his feet and ankles. This “lame” man was brought by those who loved him to the temple gate to beg from those going to temple. After all, those who claim to love and serve God should be the most kind and generous with someone who have been born lame since birth (Luke 14:12-14). In those days, the common Jewish thought was that someone in his family, father or mother, had probably sinned and that was why he was born as he was (John 9:1-3). Nevertheless his family loved him and every day brought him to receive of the kindness of God’s people. The Jews and their priests did not run him off the property. They were kind to him and he received from their kindness money to live on.
How does that compare with us Christians? If people brought their handicapped to church and left them to beg for money, how would that be received? Would the police be called to remove them from the property? How would the parishioners react to having to walk past these disabled beggars? Surely our hearts would be moved with compassion for them! These people would move our hearts and also remind us that but for the grace of God we could have also been born with some disability, right (Exodus 4:11)? Or would the dirty, the poor, the ragged cause us to complain and maybe even to stop coming to our church and go to another where we did not have to face these “dirty and smelling beggars?” We, in our nice clothes with plans to go out for lunch after service, would we eschew the needy, or would we help them? Maybe we think that they shouldn’t be bothering us? What? The needy coming to God’s people for help? Surely we think that we are the very people that should be helping them. Surely we have ministries to help the poor around us, at least weekly? Surely our hearts glow with warmth at helping the needy that we see as much, or more, than the “thank you” we receive from the missionaries in foreign lands? Now missionary giving is wonderful, truly magnificent, but what about the mission field at our feet? Are we generous with them? Do we point at the sin in their life and so dismiss our call to love them. Jesus ate with and spent time with the drunkards and sinners (Mark 2:15-17, Matthew 9:10-13, Luke 5:29-32). Jesus told people to repent, and so must we, but a reading of the Word will show times that He often first showed them acts of love and mercy, He healed and protected them, and then after a great act of love, he told them to repent of their sins, and forgave them (John 8:11, Mark 2:1-12). First He loved them, then He gave them direction. How do we measure up? Family, please consider how Jesus reacted to the poor and to whom we would call the wretched. How do we measure up to our Lord who set the example? The road is wide with excuses and narrow with the obedient and loving. What road will we choose (Matthew 7:13-14)?
Family, all those drug addicts, all those alcoholics, all the criminals and sexual offenders, Jesus died for them all. He died for them as much as for us. We may have been guilty of some these things in the past. How precious is the blood of Christ to us? Do we want not even a minute percentage of His blood wasted or do we want that all would be saved by His precious blood? Such is the heart of God (John 3:16, 2 Peter 3:9). Or do prefer our convenience, our possessions, more than sharing what God has freely given to us? Family, these thoughts call for deep self-inspection. Believe me, it makes me very uncomfortable, very uneasy at how callous I can be. I pray, Lord Jesus, may our hearts break for all people, including those that we, in sin, would consider the least of us. May we be humble and realize that we are children of God only because we too have begged. We begged for forgiveness and we received. We begged for something eternal and received because of the love of God. These people beg for what we possess that is temporary. We should be very willing to part with what one day will burn. When we share what we possess that is temporary, we should also share what we possess that is eternal. Sharing what we have is very Christ-like. Oh God, help us to love as You love. Help us to make no excuses, but rather consider excuses to be the refuse they are and rather choose to live in complete obedience to you out of genuine love for You. Thank you Lord that you are kind to us when we err. The forgiveness and love we have received from you, may we “pay-it-forward” to others, regardless of if they are dirty and stinky, or not.
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.