What I do have I give you…

What I do have I give you, in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.

Imagine that you are cleaning junk out of an old relative’s house and you discover a dusty painting that turns out to be a valuable work of Renoir!  You have pushed it aside plenty of times, not recognizing it,  yet suddenly looking at it with new eyes,  you realize how priceless it is.

Every day as they went to the Temple to pray, Peter and John would walk past this “Beautiful Gate” that scholars believed was adorned with hammered bronze and gold.  It must have been delightful to look at.  However, they would also walk past this lame beggar who sat at the foot of this gate.  It seems that they had never really taken note of him before.  He must have seemed so insignificant compared to his stunning surroundings.

But for whatever reason, the Holy Spirit decided to open Peter and John’s eyes to the man on this particular day as they pass him by.  They feel drawn to look at him and confidently invite him to be healed.  Then the man responds to his miracle with such excitement that everyone around suddenly recognizes this beggar as well and sees how precious and beautiful he is.  After all, God would not bother to work a miracle unless the fellow has some value!

The beauty of the world is always before us, and we should always appreciate it.  However, God also wants us to open our eyes to the veiled treasured hidden around us.  He wants to teach us how to look beyond at the people we pass every day and see how precious they are to the Lord.  And he does this not just so that we will admire them, but so that we will treat them with the dignity they deserve.  Imagine the healing, the restoration, and the peace that we can bring to this world as we see the beauty and glory present in each and every person around us!

-word among us