Good Morning:
Let's begin in Matthew 5:3 and move to Acts 3:2
Matthew 5:3
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Acts 3:2
And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the temple gate called Beautiful to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.
This is a beautiful story of a lame beggar that the Lord heals through His disciples.
This man had been lame from his birth. At some point in his life, friends would take him daily and place him at the temple gate to ask of alms. The age of this man is not told in this story. If one is thinking as an American would think, one would have to say this man has to be at least 18 years of age. Or, if one is thinking as a Jew would think, one would have to say this man has to be at least 20. Again, the age doesn't really matter - he could have been 18, 20, 30, 40, etc. What is interesting is even if this man was 18, 20 or even 50 - how many times did the disciples of Jesus previously pass him by going to the temple? Or, how many times did Jesus pass this man by going to the temple? The question would have to be asked, why was this man not healed prior to this story in Acts? I think our answer is in verse 2.
Our clue is the word Beautiful. When wee see this word "beautiful" we say it is pretty, eye appealing, lovely, etc. The Greek meaning for "beautiful" is fair, proper, timely, good timing. Yes Jesus and His disciples could have (probably did) pass this lame man up many times but his healing did come then but it came later. Why? because it was the proper time - other words - it was God's timing to set this man free.
This lame man wasn't expecting to be healed that day. Why? he had been sitting there for years, seeing the saints go to church (temple) day after day and still no healing. So after a while, life became to take on the same routine - asking for alms to survive and live out his life. This is sometimes a picture of a Christian on his journey in this life. Let me explain. We (Christians)need a breakthrough in our circumstances (whether healing, fiances, family, job, etc) and if we don't see a deliverance, then a routine mentality sets in. All we start to do is expect only the source (THE WORLD) that would just get us by and not the source (THE WORD) that can totally free us.
Remember, this lame man had been passed by many. You might be in a situation that you feel that you have been passed over and life is going no where. All I can say is - I don't know when but there is a gate called Beautiful for you. Don't give up and don't give in. If Jesus did it back then, He will do it again.
Blessings
kc
