I dig Collective Soul. They have been my favourite band ever since I was a young boy in about grade 4 or 5 when I used to listen to my brother’s cassette tape of their album “Hints, Allegations & Things Left Unsaid“. A song I turn on quite often is entitled “What I Can Give You“, which is featured on their album “Afterwords“. The chorus of that song goes like this:

“I can’t give you
Treasures that only men have made
But what I can give you
No one can ever take away”

I believe there is biblical truth that can be found in those words. In Acts 3, Peter and John were going up to the temple to pray and there was a lame man being carried, “whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.” When this lame man saw Peter and John about to enter the temple, he asked for money or food. Here’s what happened:

“And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, ‘Look at us.’ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.”

This man knew something was coming for him, but it was something very different than what he was asking for!

“But Peter said, ‘I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”

Wow! This man received something much greater than mere alms for the poor, although giving alms was an important facet of the Jewish faith. The early believers were still very much attached to the temple and traditional hours of prayer and because giving alms was a part of the faith, beggars often hung out by the temple.

As this beggar asked for alms, Peter did 2 things. First, he said, “Look at us.” Now the man knew something was coming his way. Second, Peter said these words, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And the words of Ed Roland ring true, “I can’t give you treasures that only men have made, but what I can give you no one can ever take away.”

Peter’s words were those of apostolic authority  and this miracle was an apostolic miracle – “And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles” (Acts 2:43). Through this miracle glory was given to God and a crowd was gathered to hear Peter preach another sermon in the temple area. This good deed done for the lame beggar pointed to a word about God!

Jesus is a healer.

In Mark 2, we see a similar story in Jesus healing a paralytic who was lowered through the roof of a house. To everyone present in the house it was evident what this man had come for, he had come to be healed physically. Look at Jesus’ words to this man:

“Son, your sins are forgiven.”
(Mark 2:5)

Timothy Keller explains this situation well in his book, “King’s Cross”:

“But in fact Jesus knows something the man doesn’t know – that he has a much bigger problem than his physical condition. Jesus is saying to him, ‘I understand your problems. I have seen your suffering. I’m going to get to that. But please realize that the main problem in a person’s life is never his suffering; it’s his sin'” (p. 27-28).

Now, Peter says something different from what Jesus says to this man, but the premise is the same. Our sin problem is our biggest issue, no matter who you are.

This lame man was born lame, we are born spiritually lame (Rom. 2:23). This man was poor, we are poor in spirit and owe a debt we cannot pay. This incident illustrates the salvation that can only be found in Jesus Christ, the name by which Peter performed this miracle and the only “name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

In 2 Corinthians Paul says we are to be ministers of reconciliation. As Christians and as ministers of reconciliation we are called to a ministry to preach the gospel and tell others about Christ in both word and deed. When we can help the poor, we should, but at all times we can give people what they need most and what “no one can ever take away”.