Acts 3:1-10

This week's Bible lesson is about Soul and body. I like to think of Soul as awareness. And what Soul is aware of is perfection, goodness, wholeness, untouched by accident or birth defects, time or space. A wonderful example of this is given in Acts. We read about a man who has been unable to stand or walk his whole life. We are not given specifics but he was unable to support himself physically or financially. So his whole life he had been carried to a place outside of the temple, a gate where others were able to enter and pray. He sat there all day begging. Everyone in the city knew him. One day he sees Peter and John approaching and he asks them for money . But Peter asks him to look at them. This was a demand for his undivided attention. It says he did this, expecting to recieve something from them. But Peter is offering him something of lasting value, the ability to make his own way. Now I am assuming that this man must have heard all about Jesus; his life, his healing (including making the lame walk). Peter, by referring to Jesus Christ by name, is giving this man a frame of reference for the type of healing that was done in his name. Peter wants this man to 'rise up', not just physically but mentally, to lift his thought and see himself as Jesus would have seen him. To, in effect, be reborn and freed from the belief of birth defect or accident. To make his point, Peter takes him by the hand and lifts him up. The words are immediated followed by action. It's clear what Peter's expectation was. He must have seen Jesus do this many times. And the results were immediate. No need to learn how to get his balance, no physical therapy needed for those muscles, no time to build up strength to support his weight. His feet and ankles were perfect and he stood. Now it was important to move out of that place and he walked and then he leaped and then, for the first time in his life, he went into church. What a scene it must have been. All those who had seen this man grow up in the shadow of the temple, now saw him praising God inside it. They were filled with wonder.

Such healing is possible today. We need to look at the Christ, the Comforter who has come to show us our true identity as the child of God. We need to reach out for the healing, and when we feel the change we need to take a stand. We need to see that our life is in perfect balance, no lack of time or money or health. Stable on a solid foundation. We need to accept our strength, our full ability to understand Truth and demonstrate it. We need to move forward, and as we do so, to joyously thank God. It starts with admitting what is possible, in fact, inevitable. Truth is powerful and undeniable. What an awesome healing to dwell on today.

Go in peace in full awareness.