Bridging the Divide - II

In our college Sunday School class two weeks ago we were reflecting on how we have taken opportunities to serve people we didn’t know. The passage we looked at was in Acts 3 where Peter heals a lame beggar who had been at the temple gate for years. You may remember the story. If not, here is a quick refresher:

Peter and John were going to worship, which was their daily custom (yes, daily…no more complaints about the one morning a week we ask you to come to church!). As they were entering, a man who had never been able to walk asked them for money. He knew the Law, so he knew that provision for those who were truly disabled, poor, widowed, etc. was expected by God of His people. Peter and John didn’t really have any money. They quit their jobs 3 years earlier to follow Jesus. So, Peter looks at him and shoots it straight. He didn’t have any money, but would he could do was heal this man in the name of Jesus. Immediately, the man is strengthened in his feet and begins to run, leap, walk, and praise God.

That’s pretty cool.

I don’t want to spend a whole lot of time making a point that Luke did not intend to make. What is central to this passage is the power of the name of Jesus. He rose from the dead, He delivered the Holy Spirit, and He still worked in the lives of people who trusted in Him. This is all in the first 3 chapters of Acts!

But, notice with me in verse 4 what begins to transpire. The NASB reads that Peter “fixed his gaze on him”. The HCSB translates it as “Peter, along with John, looked at him intently”. I love how Eugene Peterson renders this in the Message paraphrase which reads that Peter “looked him straight in the eye”. I know you are wondering why I am taking time to point us to Peter in verse 4 when the healing does not take place until Peter invokes the name of Jesus. Don’t get me wrong because I said it in the 

last paragraph…the power of the name of Jesus is center stage.

The reason verse 4 is important for you and for me today is that without verse 4, Peter does not bring Jesus into this man’s life. If he does not stop his plan and enter into this man’s world, then the proclamation of healing by the name of Jesus is not made.

I think this is where you and I miss so much of our life in Christ. We set on our course and maintain at all costs. Some of us are task oriented and want to finish the task, so interruptions are not welcomed. Other of us have the “no plan” plan. You know, those that float through life knowing the destination without planning the course to get there. In either case, we do not enter the lives of people that God has placed around us. I get it…stranger danger is a real thing.

Here’s the thing: we do this in church. Remember, this is where Peter and John were going. They were about to the their worship on. They could have easily wondered into the temple, shaken a hand or two, gone through the service, and then been on their merry way. Then, as so many of God’s people do, they could have hit repeat. Each week. Each service. Each time the “congregation” was together.

Last week we asked the question about family and how many people we truly know. Let me shift that just a little bit this week and nuance it differently: How many people have you stopped to look straight in the eye? Peter bridges a major divide when he shows this man the dignity of being made in God’s image, looks him in the eye, and speaks to his truest need. Do you know how lonely many church members are? It seems that in the community of faith, the family of God, that loneliness would not be an issue. We have Sunday school, midweek studies, worship, fellowships, mission trips, Bible school, and everything else we could possibly toss onto a calendar spread sheet.

But something changes in you and in me when we stop the regular church thing and look someone in the eye. You will not bridge the divide between your life and another life if you don’t look intently. Maybe it’s easier to not look intently. You don’t have to get involved AND you don’t have to risk the vulnerability of having someone else involved. However, that is not family!

Let me encourage you today as you begin preparing your heart for worship this Sunday to consider looking someone in the eye this week. Get involved in their life. See their pain and see their joy. See their hopes and dreams as well as their fears. When you look them in the eye, you are serving them. You are placing yourself in a position to be used of Christ in their life. No, you probably won’t be healing their lifelong paralysis. But, Jesus hasn’t quit using His people. He hasn’t quit building family. He hasn’t stopped loving us.

Bridge the divide. Don’t settle for casual lone ranger Christianity.