Beggar or Builder?

Ever since I was about 9 years old, I've heard preaching...not the "heard" that means I was in the pew, listening to someone go on and on about whatever they were going on about....(insert soundclip of Charlie Brown's teacher here). What I mean is that around the age of 9, I actually began hearing the words that speakers used to convey messages of conviction, God's hope and peace, and repentance.

I also had the privilege (though, at the time, I got easily bored with it...I was 9 after all) of hearing several of my father's messages over and over and over due to the evangelistic ventures he was often taking during his last year of schooling in seminary. One such message, and the one I want to focus on today, is that of the lame beggar who is healed in Acts 3.

There are several different and great points to make with this passage of the Word, but while I was talking with my wife a couple of days ago, I realized a new one. Try to remember the story with me. This man is lame (not "uncool," but seriously can't walk) and has been so from birth. He is set down each day at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple in Jerusalem to beg for money. Going on, he encounters Peter and John, and in his typical fashion, asks for some financial help from them. They both look at him (in accord, which alludes to the Spirit's simultaneous direction to both men), tell him they have no money, and then Peter grabs his hand, says "...in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk," as he pulls the man to his feet.

Pause.

What I've typed above is what most people think of when they see the passage. It's an awesome miracle, done in the name of Christ and with pure intent, and inevitably spreads His fame even further. There's a lot of really good stuff in that passage, and I encourage you to do an in-depth study (meaning, ask questions, look for answers in Godly commentaries, read it over and over and commit it to memory, etc.). However, I want to look at how that man is us in many ways.

Like the lame beggar, we await a stronger power than we hold to come along and help us out of the crippled state we're in. I think this passage really tells us a lot about prayer. Now, if you're anything like me, you're probably easily-irritated at hearing about it so much. Honestly, if we're Christians who are straying even the tiniest bit, our flesh flares up at the notion of letting God in on our conversation or thoughts. But let's step back a bit...

I told you earlier that I was talking with my wife. We were basically just recounting all the ways that God has been good in our lives, and the issue of prayer and Scripture commitment "came up." You see, we tend to run ourselves in the same circles the ancient Israelites did in the exodus of the desert and the time of the kingdom in Israel. We'll be uber-close to Christ one day, and the next, we're angry at anyone who says even a semi-spiritual thing in our presence because our conviction to be close to God is too strong for comfort. Sound familiar?

Well, on this particular day, Chassta (my wife, and for her sake, the name is pronounced "Shasta," although if I were you, I wouldn't spell it that way and let her find out :-) was telling me about a young women's Bible study she had just become involved with and I was telling her how her prayers had helped me out of one of the unChristlike ruts that I have previously mentioned. We were speaking of God's goodness to meet us if we'll only even express a desire to be better than we are at present, when the Spirit reminded me of the story I'd heard since I was a nine year old boy. And in that moment, I was the lame beggar again, only in a new light.

As a follower who had strayed, I'd chosen to sit beside the gate and wait for Christ to come to me, when all He asked was for me to follow Him. In this instance, my wife was the "apostle" who held out a hand for me to get up and walk again in the name Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Hmm, sounds like what the Church should be doing a lot more of, right? Keep in mind, all of this part of the illustration had already taken place. The next part's the kicker...

I conveyed to her that the first time in weeks that I'd sat down and opened the Word to get closer to God, I heard His voice again...oh, that we wouldn't think it too hard to come back to our Savior! In that very moment, the sensation of relief was like the muscles and ligaments and tendons of the beggar becoming strengthened again. Imagine! I open my Bible, and Christ reaches down to strengthen the parts of my heart, soul and mind that had become atrophied by inactivity.

Here is the challenge...DO NOT SIT BACK DOWN! Christ has strengthened that which had no strength so you and He could commune together and build up His Bride, the Church, right now. Another verse comes to mind: "If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed." No more excuses, no more bitterness or anger, no more focusing on things that tear down the Kingdom. We build from here on out. Will you join me?