By David ReayTuesday 7 Jun 2016LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Acts 4:8-14
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is
” ‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.”
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. (NIV)
Among all the wonderful things we could say about this passage, let’s focus on one. The fact that a couple of relatively uneducated, inexpert outsiders managed to heal a crippled man and proclaim a message of salvation to people. The experts in the Scriptures, the ones who had the skills to pick the sacred writings apart and search for all the deeper meanings, couldn’t figure out what had happened. First, a man was healed. Second, that same man was healed by people who shouldn’t know the first thing about the ways of God.
In other words, how could they heal if they hadn’t read the right books or had the right training? How dare God do his powerful work outside the inner circle of experts! Everyone knows that some sort of theological qualification is necessary to do God’s work!
While we must not despise being theologically educated (rightly understood and practiced we need more rather than less of it), let’s never assume our ability to do great things in God’s name is dependent on any formal qualifications. Let’s never become people who figure we can never pray for someone’s healing because we haven’t gone to a healing conference. In fact, too much information in such areas can be a hindrance. We can be so busy trying to remember the precise techniques or words that we fail to truly be led by God in such a process. A little learning can be a dangerous thing!
Ultimately, Peter and John did what they did because they had been with Jesus. All our book learning and intellect can only be helpful in Christian ministry if we have been with Jesus. And being with Jesus can make any of us fruitful in ministry. In Christian living, being ‘well taught’ isn’t simply a matter of absorbing information. It is about being in such relationship with Jesus that his love and power flow through us to a needy world. One person who has truly been with Jesus can do so much more than all the assorted information and technique-driven experts in the world. In other words, it is not so much what you know but who you know.
Blessings
David Reay