God’s Track Record

When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. (Acts 3:3-5) 
 
In this story in Acts chapter 3, Peter and John come in contact with a lame beggar outside the temple. He asks the two men for money, but they are more concerned with offering him a different kind of help rather than financial help. And they wanted to help him because they had experienced the miraculous kind of help and rescue for themselves.  
 
I think what enabled Peter and John to minister to this man, that most people ignored, is that they saw themselves in the man. Before they touched the man, Peter and John asked him to look at them. In other words, the basis for lifting and loving, reaching and reviving this man was a recognition of what God had done for them.  
 
They knew that they weren’t always the kind of men that people came to for help. They knew that they weren’t always the kind of men people looked to for counsel and advice. As a matter of fact, people ran away from Peter because of his anger management issues. And people ran away from John because of his background. So how could they look down on someone else, when at one time they were looked down upon themselves?  
 
They told the man, “look at us,” which means “check our resume.” Consider where we’ve come from and what we’ve gone through, and on the basis of that, rise up and walk in the name of Jesus.  
 
They didn’t have silver and gold, but they did have a track record and a testimony of what God can do for the rejected, the lost, the least, the left out, and the forgotten. God has a record of reversal and redemption, a history of turning people around. And if he could do that for Peter, for John, and for the lame beggar, then He can do that for you and me as well.