At the End of the Day. James W. Moore

      As One Who Knew Christ's Healing Love?

       Scripture: Acts 3:1-10

      A highway patrolman was driving down an interstate highway one morning when he noticed a potentially dangerous situation. A small black car was driving down the highway at a very slow speed. In fact, the car was moving so slowly that other cars were slamming on their brakes and swerving to get around it. The highway patrolman pulled the slow-moving car over.

      When the patrolman walked up to the car he had stopped, he found a car full of nuns. He said to the nun who was driving: "Do you know why I stopped you?"

      "I have no idea," said the nun. "Was I doing something wrong?"

      "Well," said the patrolman, "you were driving so slowly that it was dangerous."

      The nun said, "I kept seeing all these signs with the number 20 on them. I figured that was the speed limit, so I was going exactly 20 miles per hour." "No, no, Sister," the highway patrolman said, "that's the highway sign, not the speed limit. This is Interstate 20, and the speed limit here is 65 miles per hour, not 20."

      Just then, the patrolman glanced in the backseat and noticed that the nuns seated back there had a look of stark terror on their faces, a panic-stricken expression, and their knuckles white from holding onto one another so tightly. The patrolman said to the driving nun, "Pardon me for asking, but what's wrong with the nuns in the backseat?" And the driver said, "I don't know, they've been that way ever since we got off Highway 101 a few miles back!"

      Many people go through life like that—riding in the backseat, frozen in fear, and following the lead of someone who may be taking them on a dangerous journey because that leader is reading the signs all wrong!

      That is precisely what happened to the man in the third chapter of Acts. The leaders of his society had completely misread the signs, and consequently they had told him, "There is no hope for you. You are under the judgment of God. You cannot walk because you or your parents sinned a great sin, and now God is paying you back, and you'll be this way for the rest of your life. We'd like to help you, but we can't tamper with the justice of God. You can go on down to the Temple gate and beg, and maybe somebody will come by and have pity on you and toss you a coin or two. Sorry, but that's the best we can do for the likes of you." Wasn't that a terrible thing to say to that man? But society in that day had no time for a disenfranchised man. And yet, that is exactly how the leaders of his society treated him, day in and day out in so many ways.

      But you and I know that they had misread the signs terribly. They had said to him: "There is no hope for you! This is your destiny, so just accept it!" But then one afternoon, along came Peter and John, and they said to him: "It doesn't have to be this way. By the power of Jesus Christ, you can have a new life. We don't have any coins to toss your way, but we've got something to give you that's a whole lot better: 'In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.'" Then, notice this, the words are fascinating here. The Scriptures say that Peter took the man by the right hand and "raised him up"; raised him up! That means he got resurrected!

      It was unbelievable. The man discovered that he could stand on his own two feet, and suddenly he began to do a jig right there on the Temple steps. The song of resurrection was being played, and he was dancing to the beat! People came running from all directions. They knew who this man was. He had been a fixture there for some time. He had been sitting there begging every day for years. Someone had always carried him to the Beautiful Gate in the morning and carried him home each night. And now, he was jumping up and down like a man possessed. Peter then said to the crowd that this miracle was done through the power of the risen Christ. It was faith that made it happen. As the story ends, Peter and John and the healed man all link arms and go into the Temple together (v. 11). Don't you know that in that moment, somewhere in heaven, Jesus was smiling, so glad to see his disciples taking up his ministry of healing and redemptive love.

      What a great story this is! Not just because it describes a dramatic and wonderful miracle healing that took place long ago, but even more because it also so powerfully outlines what Christ's love can do for you and me right here and right now. Let me show you what I mean with some thoughts that can serve as a great formula for life for you and me. Are you ready? Here's number one.

       First of All, Christ's Healing Love Gives Us a Self We Can Live With

      This man's self-esteem needed a shot in the arm. All his life, he had been told not only that he was worthless, but also that God had it in for him. Nothing could be further from the truth, but that was the message his world sent him in words and deeds and attitudes. But then, here came Peter and John to tell him that he counted, that he mattered, that he was important, that he was special, that they valued him, but most important, that God loved him.

      Some years ago, there was a priest in New York City named Father Joe. Father Joe entered the priesthood after pursuing several colorful careers. He was a soldier in Vietnam, a professional football player, and a singer in a band that never took off. In his midthirties, he decided to go to seminary and train to be a priest. When he was ordained, he was assigned to a parish in South Bronx.

      One day, he got into an argument with a cabdriver who had parked in front of the church. One thing led to another, and suddenly Father Joe forgot the thin veneer of his new profession and grabbed the cabbie, pinning him against a fence. The cabbie reached for his knife, but fortunately other people stepped in and broke it up before anyone got hurt. Father Joe was mortified at what he had done and how he had acted. He knew that this was no way for a priest to behave. He was so ashamed, cut to the heart. It was terrible. A few minutes later he had to say Mass with that ugliness, that hate, that anger rising in him.It hurt to pray. He was confused and embarrassed. What does love your neighbor mean? he wondered. He looked up at the cross and knew he had failed. He had not loved his enemy. He had wanted to fight. Father Joe wondered if he was worthy to be a priest.

      While he was grappling with his soul, Father Joe had a visitor. Jasmine was her name. Jasmine was a little girl who came by the church every morning to get a glass of milk. Little Jasmine knew nothing of what had happened, but she gave Father Joe something that morning that brought him out of his spiritual crisis. It was a note scribbled with a first-grader's pencil. It read, "Dear Father Joe . . . I love you once, I love you twice, I love you more than beans and rice." That's all, but it was just what Father Joe needed. He read her poem and smiled and understood the larger message, too. Jasmine had reminded him of what's really important. She was an angel that day (a messenger from God). Jasmine reminded him that we are loved and accepted as we are. With all our weaknesses and foibles, God loves us and accepts us just as we are.

      That is the message of the Christian faith. Even though we sin, even though we fail, even though we aren't perfect, God doesn't desert us, God doesn't forsake us, and God doesn't give up on us. God still loves us and accepts us, and in so doing, God gives us, by the miracle of his amazing grace, a self we can live with.

       Second, Christ's Healing Love Gives Us a Faith We Can Live By

      In the fall semester of 1997, two male sophomore students at Duke University were taking Organic Chemistry. They both had done very well on all the quizzes, the midterm exam, and the lab assignments, and both had a solid A going into the final exam. The two friends were so confident