Acts 3:11-16
While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go... By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.
Solomon's Colonnade was one of the grandest buildings at that time. The gate called Beautiful was one of the gates of Solomon's Colonnade. The entire gate was coated with bronze and glittered under the sun. The gate was shaped like a bunch of grapes, symbolizing that God's people experience abundance of life in Him. What a contrast to the grandeur of the gate, when right by the gate sat a crippled beggar! Perhaps you will say, well, at least we do not see crippled beggars sitting at the entrance of churches. Although the people around us may not be physically crippled, they are spiritually in bondage to other things in life, and do not experience freedom, just like the crippled man.
In the modern society today, there are many people with hearts bound by hatred. The bitterness accumulates throughout their life since young. Every hurt, every defeat increases the bitterness in the heart and causes unforgiveness toward others. Watch any television show today. Whether it is Chinese soap opera or American sitcom, these shows reflect the hatred and unforgiveness in the hearts of people, as well as the fear of the uncertain future. The fear and worry causes a lack of peace, resulting even in an inability to sleep at night. Sad to say, those who are trapped in all these hatred, unforgiveness, fear and worry are starting to get used to a life like this. This is like the crippled man at the gate Beautiful. He was used to being crippled and used to begging. Every day when he is being carried off to the gate, he thought that his only need was money for food and clothes. There are many people like him who are around us today, who do not recognize their real needs.
The mission of the church on earth is not just for meeting every Sunday. We need to reach out to those who are in need, to do what Jesus would have done. We are called to show the love of Christ in the midst of hatred and anger, to forgive as the Lord forgave, in the midst of a hurting world, to share our faith in a skeptical world, and preach a message of hope in a world full of hopelessness. It is not because by our own strength we can, but by the grace and strength of God who lives in us.
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