Advent Devotional for Dec. 21
Sunday, December 21 Acts 3:1-9
Healing is more important than money.
When going to the Temple to pray, Peter and John met a poor man seeking alms. In so doing, they faced the same temptation many of us seek when we encounter sickness or poverty: to throw money at it, to buy it off. But instinctively Peter and John knew that alms were not the deep desire of the man’s heart—healing was. And so healing is what they offer him, and it is this healing that causes the man to go walking and leaping and praising God.
We spend this time of year surrounded by charitable causes seeking money. Many of them may be worthy causes, and many of them may be good ways for you to touch the world with God’s love. But often we are overwhelmed by such requests and unsure about how to best steward the money God gives us; for every cause we give to there are literally thousands we do not give to. This story reminds us that as people of God, we have more than money to offer people. Money can be useful, but it is not always what people need, even when they think it is what they need. In reality, what we all need is healing, a sense of purpose and belonging, and a reconciliation with the One who created us and our world; and it is these things that we Christians are uniquely suited to bring to the world.
To give money to a problem, in the end, is often the easy way out: it feels good and makes us feel like we are part of the solution, but costs us very little in terms of time or personal investment. Healing, on the other hand, requires our whole being, requires that we enter into relationship with those who we seek to help. It is that kind of love that Christ extended us, and that kind of love we should offer to others.
Healing is more important than money.
When going to the Temple to pray, Peter and John met a poor man seeking alms. In so doing, they faced the same temptation many of us seek when we encounter sickness or poverty: to throw money at it, to buy it off. But instinctively Peter and John knew that alms were not the deep desire of the man’s heart—healing was. And so healing is what they offer him, and it is this healing that causes the man to go walking and leaping and praising God.
We spend this time of year surrounded by charitable causes seeking money. Many of them may be worthy causes, and many of them may be good ways for you to touch the world with God’s love. But often we are overwhelmed by such requests and unsure about how to best steward the money God gives us; for every cause we give to there are literally thousands we do not give to. This story reminds us that as people of God, we have more than money to offer people. Money can be useful, but it is not always what people need, even when they think it is what they need. In reality, what we all need is healing, a sense of purpose and belonging, and a reconciliation with the One who created us and our world; and it is these things that we Christians are uniquely suited to bring to the world.
To give money to a problem, in the end, is often the easy way out: it feels good and makes us feel like we are part of the solution, but costs us very little in terms of time or personal investment. Healing, on the other hand, requires our whole being, requires that we enter into relationship with those who we seek to help. It is that kind of love that Christ extended us, and that kind of love we should offer to others.
posted by Michael Jordan at 6:00 AM
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