Acts 3:1-10

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 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. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

6 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.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

-Acts 3:1-10

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Does this sound like something we've read back in Mark? Perhaps a story of Jesus healing somebody, after which the healed person's life is changed and the surrounding people are all amazed at the miracle? Sounds just like one of many of the miraculous healing Jesus performed, but this time it's performed by Peter.

As a continuation of the gospels, the book of Acts depicts the life of the disciples and Christians after Jesus's ascension back to heaven. Although the events still take place thousands of years ago, the fact that Jesus is not physically on Earth anymore is the same as today. However, although God is not physically on Earth in the form of Jesus Christ, we read earlier that God is still present in the form of the Holy Spirit, who is very much still at work even after Jesus's ascension.

This miracle performed by Peter is one of many ways God is still present and active. It's clear that it was not through Peter's abilities or strength that the lame man was healed, but rather through "the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth". Furthermore, we observe that the power of Jesus is something that can be freely given, something that is more valuable and more life changing than money.

Even though these kinds of miracles are not so common anymore today, we can still learn and take away the idea of being able to pass along the name of Jesus to others, to have the mentality of "what I do have I give you". Of course practicing charity and being generous with our possessions and resources is a good thing and something we should strive to do. But even more important is being able to share our knowledge and experiences of the gospel, of Jesus and how He can change lives.

Furthermore, we can infer from the passage that this is something that should be intentional, as we see both Peter and John look straight at the lame man and demand his attention. If the name of Jesus is so powerful that it can heal and perform miracles, than we have to make it our mission to be intentional to spread His name and to bring Jesus to others - to share our relationship with God. This is "Beautiful"!