Spilled Coins (Part 2)

Well, this is the part of the lesson that is a bit harder for me to write because it is convicting on a very deep level. If you want the whole story of my encounter with a woman & her spilled coins, read yesterday's note.

Between writing the SaLT lesson, preparing for our SaLT meeting and listening to Chuck's sermon, I have spent hours in Mark 5 and the story of Jairus' daughter and the woman at the well this year. It has struck me over & over that Jesus, on His way to heal a little girl, stopped for one woman who touched Him, who needed Him, and who believed that He was the only answer to her lifelong problem. He could have kept walking. He could have allowed her to receive His power & be healed & left it at that. But He didn't. He stopped, sought her out, looked in her face, and blessed her. She was worth His time & His tenderness. She had value beyond her need for healing, and He took the time to reveal that to her. And it didn't detract from His mission at all. In fact, it added to it. To Jairus it looked like Jesus' delay meant there was no hope for his daughter, who died before they got to her. But it was perfect timing for Jesus, who raised her from the dead and gave her back to her parents. Right on time.

Jesus said in John 14:12, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." When He left us to go back to Heaven, he gave us the promised Holy Spirit, who in & through us would multiply the work that Jesus did, because there are many more of us than there was of Him. 1 John 2:6 says, "Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did." This is an expectation, not an option. If we are to be His hands & feet to the world, if we are to multiply His work here on earth, we MUST walk as He did.

Peter & John are a perfect example of this in Acts 3. They were on their way to worship and were stopped by the sight of a crippled man who was at the gate. This was not the first time they had seen this man. He was put there EVERY DAY to beg from those going in to the temple. But this day. This day Peter & John SAW him. It says in verse 4 that they "looked straight at him". Not only did they look at him, but Peter made him look at them. Eye contact is underrated in our society. It's uncomfortable & makes us see things we don't want to see. But it is oh, so important in seeing & communicating value to another human being. The man looked at them expecting them to give him money & move on. Instead, they offered him the love, forgiveness & healing of Jesus Christ. His hands & feet to this man. His hands & feet to the world. And their gift to this crippled beggar amazed & changed the lives of everyone who saw him walking, jumping & praising God. And then Peter & John gave credit where credit was due. This was not of them. This was of God. They were simply walking as Jesus did.

As I drove away from this woman & her coins, now safely back in the box ready to be turned into an adventure, I was struck with conviction. How many people do I pass by every day who have burdens much more pressing than some spilled coins? How many people do I rush past because I am in a hurry. Or worse, because I don't want to see them. I am selfish with my time. I don't always want to get dirty. But if I claim to live in Him, I MUST walk as Jesus did. I MUST look. I MUST see. I MUST act. I MUST give value to those who Christ loved so much He would die for them. And I MUST give Him all the glory, for they need to know. They need to know that all of their hope, all of their forgiveness, all of their eternity is wrapped up in this man, this Savior, Jesus Christ, who was never too busy, never unwilling, and never uncaring enough to refuse to see. And because His Spirit lives in me, I can see, too.