Read: Acts 3:1-10
He fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. (v. 5)
Everything is vying for our attention these days. The whole world seems to be constantly blinking and flickering, “Look here! Look here!” We become so easily distracted by the ads on our phones or the billboards on the street. It can be hard to pay attention to what really matters.
The beggar in Acts 3 didn’t know where to focus either. Even as he was asking Peter and John for money, he didn’t actually look at them until they said, “Look at us” (v. 4). Perhaps we are in a similar situation to that beggar. We need so much, but we aren’t quite sure where we’re going to find what we need. So we’re restlessly looking around for who or what might be able to give us what we seek. Yet when the beggar finally did fix his attention on Peter and John, he received far more than he expected. Not money, but healing! And a chance to learn about the new life available in the name of Jesus.
This week, we will study several passages in which different Bible characters receive an invitation to look more closely at the things of God. Consider this an invitation for you to refocus your attention as well. Do you believe that when you fix your attention on Jesus, you will receive something from him? Will you choose to fix your attention again today on the one who can heal and save you?
As you pray, ask God to help you focus your attention on him.
Sarah Sanderson is the author of The Place We Make: Breaking the Legacy of Legalized Hate. She lives with her husband and their four teenage children in Oregon.
