Look at Us

Read

Acts 3:2-6 "Now 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. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, 'Look at us!' So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then 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.'"

Think

There is a phrase in verse 2 that is easy to skip. “He was put there every day.”

Every day. Same gate. Same mat. Same man. Which means the crowd going into the temple had walked past him hundreds of times. Thousands. He was not hidden. He was at the entrance, in the way, impossible to miss. And people had gotten so used to seeing him that they had stopped seeing him. He had become part of the building.

You do this too. So do I.

There is a kid at your school you have walked past every single day since your freshman year. You know where their locker is. You know roughly what they wear. You could pick them out of a crowd. And you have never once said a word to them, and it is not because you are cruel. It is because they became scenery. They are just part of the hallway now, like the trophy case and the water fountain that never works.

Now watch Peter. Peter looked straight at him.

Before there is a miracle, before there is a sermon, before three thousand more people get added to the church, there is a man looking at a man. Everything in Acts 3 and 4 starts with somebody deciding to actually see one person.

Peter could have kept walking. He had a good reason to. He was headed to the temple to pray, which is the most spiritual excuse available. He also had nothing to give. He says so out loud. “Silver or gold I do not have.”

That is worth sitting with, because that is the exact excuse you use. I do not have anything to offer. I do not know the Bible well enough. I would not know what to say. I am dealing with my own stuff.

Peter was broke and he still stopped.

“What I do have I give you.”

Here is the thing about boldness that nobody tells students. You picture it as a stage. You picture standing up in front of the cafeteria and giving a speech, and since you are never going to do that, you assume boldness is not for you.

Boldness almost never starts on a stage. It starts with noticing one person and refusing to walk past.

It looks like sitting down at the table where somebody is by themselves. It looks like texting the friend who has gotten quiet lately and actually asking how they are, then asking a second time when they say fine. It looks like learning the name of the kid you have walked past for two years.

And notice what the man expected. Luke says he gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. He thought this was about money. He had no idea what was about to happen to his legs.

You will almost never know what is actually going on with the person you stop for. You think you are just saying hey. You have no idea what kind of week they are having, what they were sitting there thinking about, whether anybody else has said one kind word to them today.

You are not responsible for the miracle. Peter did not heal that man and he knew it. You are responsible for looking straight at somebody.

School has been going for a couple weeks now. Everybody has settled into their patterns. The tables are set. The groups are formed. The people who are alone are already alone, and by October nobody will think anything of it.

You are walking into a building tomorrow full of people who have become scenery to somebody. Do not let them be scenery to you.

Apply

Pick one person – Choose one specific student you see regularly and have never actually talked to. Write their name down or picture their face. Tomorrow, or Monday if it is a weekend, say something to them and use their name.

Pray

God, I have walked past people for years without seeing them. Give me eyes for one person this week. I do not have much to offer and I am asking you to use what I do have. Help me stop when it would be easier to keep walking. In Jesus’ name. Amen.