| When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!” 5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. |
This man clearly asked to receive alms from Peter and John – in fact, he was carried to a certain gate each morning for the sole purpose of begging for alms from those passing by to pray. It makes sense then, that when Peter and John give him attention, he would expect to receive something from them.
So a few quick things that popped up with this passage for me today:
1. The man asked. We are called to do the same. In fact, Jesus says, “"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” –Matthew 7:7
2. He didn’t just ask for alms – he asked to receive alms. I love that. I know there are different translations of Scripture, but I love that NASB includes that infinitive “to receive.” The majority of the time, I don’t need something new, I just need help to receive that which has already been given to me.
3. He expected to receive something from Peter and John. He asked “to receive alms” and “expected to receive something.” How often do I ask with expectation? Even further, when I ask and Jesus responds to me, how often do I give him my attention, expecting to receive something from him?
There are quite a few homeless folks here in this city. They stand on street corners and sell papers for a dollar. They typically occupy the same corner, so you get to see familiar faces on certain streets as you drive through Nashville. One of my favorite parts of my morning is when I get off the interstate on exit 1 to West End Ave. There’s a man there with a full salt and pepper beard, leathery skin, and light eyes. Standing nearby him is a stray dog – and to this day, I’m not sure who adopted whom in their couplet, but I love them together. The man holds up the paper and waves to each car, saying things like, “Good Morning!” I’ll never forget, the first time I saw someone give him a dollar was on a sunny morning, and he turned to his dog and started jumping with joy – holding up the crinkled bill above his head – with the pup barking and leaping with him. From that day, I started trying to carry dollar bills with me more often. I’ve never read the paper, but I love it when he runs out of them – then he hands out cool pamphlets – like one day, he had love letters from the Civil War.
The notion of begging for something and yet not expecting to receive it seems incredibly foolish to me. Yet, on some level, I do it all the time with the Lord. When I’m not careful, I forget that Jesus will never harm me. I can ask – whether it be for something, or just for help receiving what He’s already given – with full expectation to receive something from Him that’s best. I wonder if my excitement when Jesus responds to me comes from a root of worship or surprise/shock. I’m almost always more surprised by his grace and faithfulness than I am thankful for it. My surprise almost always comes from a place sprinkled with a little bit of unbelief – I am more surprised by his goodness because part of me was in a “waiting for the other shoe to drop” mind set. To be honest, I don’t think that’s asking with expectation, nor is it trusting in God’s character and His heart toward me.
He says clearly, “Ask and it will be given to you.” So friends, the challenge is to trust that He will keep His word. May we ask with the expectation to receive something from Him – something for our good – and may our response be one of thankfulness rather than faithlessness.
Much love from this eclectic city,
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