Acts 3:1-7
1“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2Now 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. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
6Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.”
I can relate to “the beggar”.
How? I’ll tell you in a minute.
But first, I have a question.
“After his healing… what was “the beggar” going to do for work?
When he was laying outside the temple as a child, then a teenager, then as “a man”… I wonder if he had any dreams, “If I could only walk I would… If I only had…”
Then “his prayer” is answered.
BUT… now that he can walk, what is he supposed to do?
He’s been crippled his whole life, thus far, he was placed outside the temple everyday so he could beg… he obviously didn’t have any work skills, no life experience, only knowing suffering, and poverty.
Maybe it was his family who “dropped him off” at the temple gate, in the morning, as they went to their jobs and activities.
So here he is, skipping and jumping, maybe even kicking up his heels, now that they are good and strong, and praising God.
But he has no marketable skills, and now that he’s not crippled up, you just know his family is going to get on him to get a job.
I’m in the process of investing some time in learning marketing techniques for my next book… and books beyond.
But, like the beggar, I got nothin’ going into this new endeavor. I’ve been here before.
It has me thinking.
The “success” books, written by successful people go one of two ways… 1. They say, “I had a great job, got sad, now I have another great job, yay me!” OR 2. They say, “I had nothing. I started out in the garage.”
Well, did you “have nothing” or was the garage a figment of your imagination, along with whatever tools you had in there? Sometimes people like to use the “humble beginnings” when in fact they had all manner of resources at their disposal.
Things like a garage. Moms basement. Dads cash. An education. Just be real with yourself when looking back.
I’ve been kinda sloggin through my writing this last week. With time being a bit lacking.
I, finally, have a completed rough draft on the last chapter of my upcoming book. And my writing schedule has been a little off due to some family man responsibilities.
Learning this writing gig has me wrestling with my deepest personal hang ups at times.
The mental tangle this week is focused on the fact that I didn’t have much starting out.
When I got my first real job out of high school, I didn’t have a car. I had to stay with a brother who worked at the same place, he borrowed me a car, when he could, or I would hitch a ride into work.
Between eating, buying some jeans, and beer money… it took a couple paychecks to save up $400.00 for a “beater with a heater.”
When I moved in with my girlfriend I had accumulated a car, a garbage bag full of clothes, and a milk crate full of comic books. [Ok… to be honest, I had the comic books the whole time]
But, no real skills as of yet. I don’t know what I was thinking. Like those skills were going to just magically show up one day?
I was working, and learning “jobs” but, looking back… I didn’t have a plan. I wasn’t working a plan. I didn’t even know a plan would have come in handy.
Looking back I don’t think I would have been able to develop and stick with one any way. Not the way my brain was working.
I knew I didn’t have much going for me.
Then I had some kids.
Now applying today’s verse to my kids, I didn’t think I had any “confidence”, “no gold or silver” but I wanted them to have that “confidence” even though I thought I didn’t have any to give.
There is a saying, “You can’t give what you don’t have.”
But my kids turned out pretty good… they are nothing like me mentally, they are strong. Sure they have some insecurities, everybody does, but they aren’t emotionally crippled like I was.
At least I gave them that.
I can now recognize that when I get stuck in a thought of “not having something” it is a result of my “poverty stricken mindset” and I recognize it by the “pain” it causes me.
And like a bud on my Lilac bush, I now recognize that pain as a growing stage.
The military strategist, Carl von Clausewitz is quoted as saying, “Whoever does great things with small means… has successfully reached the goal.”
Peter didn’t have any “thing” to give… he had a “who” to give.
And one thing I learned from HIM is that I have something that most people I run into don’t seem to have… and that is knowing the difference between… being broke; being broken; and being out of options… is way different if you have a WHO, who is… the WAY.
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