Look at us

“And Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze upon him and said, “Look at us!””  Acts 3:4

Look at us – “How are you today?”  “Fine.”  “What’s up, man?”  “Nothing much.”  “How’s it going?”  “Great.”  Non-answers.  When we ask questions like this, we really don’t want to know the true answers.  It’s just passing conversation.

That’s exactly what the crippled man in this story expected.  He wasn’t asking for attention.  He was asking for a handout without thought.

“Alms.  Alms.”  It’s the word for mercy.  Don’t give this man a second thought.  Drop some spare change in his cup.  Just pass by.  But Peter wasn’t about to be a forgettable figure in the life of this cripple.  The problem wasn’t on Peter’s side of the equation.  The problem was with the cripple.  He was so used to being lame that he accepted completely his terrible condition.  Born this way.  Destined forever to begging.  When he asked mercy from Peter and John, he was the one who wasn’t thinking of anything more.  He was the one whose expectations were reduced to spare change.  So Peter had to get his attention.

“Behold us!”  Blepson eis humas.  Fix your gaze onto us.  Stop the inattentive acceptance of your miserable life and behold what God can do.  The wake up call.  These men were not going to just pass by.  The cripple did look.  He expected a big handout.  Imagine his shock when Peter told him that there was no silver or gold.  Instant discouragement.  Maybe annoyance.  Maybe disdain.  Why bother me with your self-righteous show if you aren’t going to give me anything? 

Don’t we do the same thing with God?  We start with self-absorbed complacency.  We don’t expect anything great because our attention is all on our miserable state.  Then God comes along and demands that we stop our self-pity and look on Him.  We do, of course, but with the aura of expecting Him to meet our needs in the way we wish.  That’s when we hear those awful words, “Silver and gold have I none”.  God is not interested in giving us what will just get us by.  He is not going to leave us in a state of self-pity by feeding our preoccupation with our misery.  It’s not what we think we need that matters.  What matters is what He is ready to give.  Not today’s fix but every day’s foundation. 

“In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk!”

Are you sitting, waiting for God to give you a handout or are you looking on Him, ready to accept the gift He offers?