Acts 3:1–10 contains the very interesting story of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate.
He had been lame from birth and was carried daily to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he begged for alms.
Acts 4:22 tells us he was over forty years old. For more than four decades, he had never walked.
You would think his greatest request would be to walk. Instead, he asked Peter and John for money.
Giving ‘Almajiri’ vibes.
There is no surviving record of how much a beggar at the Beautiful Gate would have earned. However, based on a very rough modern comparison, someone begging regularly at a busy and strategic location might receive the equivalent of about £150 to £350 per month today.
This is only an estimate, please.
And do not bother converting it to naira!
Whatever the amount, it could help him survive, buy food and perhaps compensate those who carried him around. But it could not make him walk.
Mere coins. Not even Bitcoin.
Perhaps he once desired to walk. But after living with the same condition for over forty years, his expectations may have adjusted to his reality.
That is what prolonged difficulty can do.
Life can condition you to stop seeking transformation and start negotiating for maintenance. Instead of asking how to escape a situation, you begin asking for enough comfort to remain inside it.
His condition required healing, but his expectation had been reduced to alms.
Then he encountered Peter and John.
Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you.”
In the name of Jesus Christ, Peter told him to rise and walk. He then took him by the right hand and helped him up. Immediately, his feet and ankles became strong.
Maybe you also need to rise and walk in purpose, career, business or destiny, but you have settled for alms.
Perhaps you are asking for more money when what you really need is a better skill.
You may be asking for connections when you need competence.
You may be asking for another opportunity when you have not properly prepared for the one already in front of you.
May we encounter our Peter and John. People who will not give us what we ask, but we truly need. Amen.
Until then, there are lessons to learn from the man.
First, he showed up at the gate daily. Consistency did not heal him, but it positioned him for the encounter that changed his life.
Second, he accepted Peter’s hand and attempted to stand. Receiving help often requires participation.
Sometimes the best help is not money. It may be a skill, honest advice, accountability, access or an opportunity that increases your capacity.
What if the thing you have been asking for is only an alm, while your real need is to rise up and walk?
Have a great weekend.
P.S
Giving “Almajiri” vibes: A humorous reference to street begging. Traditionally, an Almajiri is a boy receiving Qur’anic education in Northern Nigeria, though the term is now often associated with begging.
Naira: The official currency of Nigeria.
