One day, a couple of guys I know of were on their way to a prayer meeting. And these guys, to give some context, they were totally on fire for Jesus. Weeks before this they’d been at an event and I guess you could think of it as an epic prayer and worship session and God showed up in power. Out of this event, there was an outreach and thousands of people in their city began to follow Jesus! And these two guys, they were leaders in this new movement.
Anywho, so they were walking through the city and there was this beggar whom they’d seen before, he couldn’t walk and just sat begging. He called to them and asked for some money, probably most of you have walked past someone asking for money…it can be a little awkward. I don’t mind helping, myself. There’ve been instances where I have given someone a few bucks. Usually, if I have time, I’ll try to take them out to eat (which often leads to a crazy story!). But when I’m on my way someplace, to be honest, I usually just ignore them, it’s simpler than giving them false hope.
But our two friends here, on this particular day, they didn’t ignore the man. Instead, they engaged him directly and one said, “Look at us.” Of course, at this point the fella was expecting a nice donation, but that wasn’t what came next. These guys who’d experienced the power of God and had seen thousands give their lives to Jesus, they had faith for something even more significant. Instead, they said something like this: “We don’t have any money on us, but we do have something of value: in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.”
What’s up! How bold is that? They just stepped out on a limb. And guess what? God met them. He healed the guy right then and there! They took the beggar’s hand and pulled him up, and God healed his ankles! Needless to say, the guy jumped up and began praising God.
Some of you might know of these guys too. They’re the apostles Peter and John and this story is told in Acts chapter three. One of the things I’ve been chewing on this semester is this truth: Bible stories aren’t fairy tales, they are true stories. They’re just as true as the story about those strange dance moves I busted last week. They’re just as real as the story about a friend of mine who gave her life to Jesus earlier this semester and has been growing in leaps and bounds. They really happened, just like my friend who was filled with the Holy Spirit at BASICcon a few weeks ago.
I’m strange, but in many ways, I don’t think I’m so unique, and I know this about myself: my tendency is to remove myself from biblical stories. To somehow put them into a different category. While not denying their authenticity, somehow they become fairy tales. But these are real stories about real people just like you and me.
James put it like this when talking about another biblical figure with lots of awesome stories; he said, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.” That story about him praying and it not raining for three years? It’s a true story. A guy, like you and me, who’d surrendered to the Lord and was used by God, he prayed and stuff happened. It’s not a fairy tale; it’s the truth.
And God is still moving…He wants to move through us today. I believe that when we treat these Bible stories like fairy tales, we stifle the faith and boldness to which God calls us. But when we begin reading and talking about these stories as they are in truth we see them as God empowered reality. Maybe this will open Scripture in a fresh way and lead to many amazing stories in your own life!
Be encouraged, for though we’re ordinary our God is anything but ordinary.
photo credit: Express Monorail via photopin cc