Scripture
8While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was sitting 9and listening as Paul preached. Looking straight at him, Paul realized he had faith to be healed. 10So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking. Acts 14:8-10
Observation
This man had spent his entire life being ignored. That awkward social glance looking at his crippled feet and then quickly looking away was all too familiar. He probably expected Paul to do the same. According to Jewish religious tradition the blind and lame were not allowed in the Temple or else they would be seen as defiling God’s Holy place. Acts 4 reveals the furthest the blind and lame could go was outside the Gate Beautiful. What a searing irony that the blind and lame desperate for the beauty and healing of God’s presence had to stay by a gate that mocked them for their supposed hideous unclean state. Just as in Acts 4 with Peter, Paul not only looked at the man in Lystra but saw into his soul. Proverbs 30:17 states, “The eye is the window to the soul”. When Paul actually took the time to do what no one had ever done he saw what no what one else had seen, “faith to be healed.” What if the beginning of the miracle our world so desperately needs starts with us not just looking but seeing the person God has put right in front of us?
Application
Do you remember that feeling of suspicion early on in the pandemic? You’d be scrambling to find some toilet paper or hand sanitizer at the local Target and you’d see someone coming toward you in the same aisle. When they saw you they would quickly look down, look away, and ensure six feet of distance between you and them, right? We were all wearing masks for the first time and so all we could see were the eyes. We were like so many bank robbers in old west towns wearing masks as they marched in to rob the place. At least that’s what it felt like. The fear mongering was so effective that at any moment that person in the grocery aisle next to you could be a carrier of Covid-19 and that, to even look at them, might allow transmission of said virus. Even though we are almost at the two year mark of the pandemic, and we know so much more about the transmission of this virus, it’s obvious to see that these elongated practices have completely changed our normal social reactions. Masks or not, we aren’t really looking at each other any more, let alone seeing each other as people, instead of potential problems to be avoided. A study, published in the National Institute of Health Medical Journal, verified scientifically that “the fear of Covid-19 has changed the way we look at human faces.” The first of its kind, this study went on to prove, we look away from that which we fear as a natural reaction: “Participants looked at the eyes of individuals presented as “COVID-19 Free” longer than at those of individuals presented as “Sick with COVID-19” or “Recovered from COVID-19” for both time windows of analysis.” We consider it abhorrent that those who are blind or lame were looked down upon if looked upon at all in First Century Israel and yet we have all been subtly trained to look at each other the same way. Wouldn’t it be incredible to see each other through the eyes of The Savior rather than suspicion? “It hurts to be invisible. It hurts more to feel visible and yet intentionally ignored.” - Rick Warren
Prayer
Forgive me Lord for not taking time to see what You see in the eye’s of those around me. Forgive me for judging a book by its cover, for making snap judgments, for allowing someone I don’t understand to be someone I fear and avoid. I remember a homeless man sharing that it wasn’t the food that he was thankful for the most. The gift of a free meal meant someone took the time to see him as a person. To be seen a person when they’ve been invisible all of their lives is exactly what our world needs. The miracle starts with not just looking at someone, but seeing them as someone Jesus died for.
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