Monday, May 16th, 2022

Today, I share what came to me as I read from Acts 14:5-18.

A crippled man is hanging out near Paul and Barnabas.

“At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth, who had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him, saw that he had the faith to be healed, and called out in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet.” He jumped up and began to walk about.” ~ Acts 14:8-10

The phrasing of the verse caught my attention because it speaks highly about the human experience and its connection to the divine.

Later on, as everyone saw this miracle happen, they started praising or considering Paul and Barnabas as gods. So, they started idolizing them and even started forming a line to present sacrifices to them. Paul and Barnabas had to clear the whole thing out by stating they had no miraculous power. That power is coming from the one true God.

This is where the reading caught my attention.

On the one side, the power is not coming from Paul, but through him. This is a very nice way to explain that humans are meant to be a vehicle, a channel, for the all-encompassing energy that we call God to do its work.

On the other side, Paul saw this crippled man had the faith to be healed. That speaks strongly to this power of free will. The idea that it’s not that the power of God can do things for me, it’s also recognizing I have to be open, willing, and faithful that power is going to do something for me.

I think that’s something that we all miss all the time. We think if an external force can’t do anything with us, for us, and within us, then that force is a lie.

But we rarely acknowledge that free will is a power we have. It’s part of our co-creative nature to be able to say,

“Nope, I don’t want you to talk to me right now. I don’t want you to do things for me in my life. I want to earn it all. I want to go work hard and earn my stripes and be the amazing steward that you want me to be. So don’t please don’t send me gifts. Please don’t do anything for me.”

In this instance, the crippled man believed and was fully aligned with the idea that there was a power that could help him walk again, even though he was born crippled.

Another point worth mentioning is Paul and Barnabas declaring they weren’t the ones with the power, they were the ones that have the power to let the energy of God flow through them, so it can do its work in the world.

That is an interesting way to think about the human experience: to understand that it’s not up to me, but it’s also not, not up to me.

It’s like I’m part of the co-creation of the world. It’s very easy for us to put 100% of the credit on God and not recognize that we have to choose to allow His energy to flow through us.

I come from honoring the 100% responsibility of me letting God do his work through me, just as much as 100% of the responsibility of God to show up with me.

What did you see in the reading?

In peace,

~Juan