by Pastor David
Acts 14:8 – “Now at Lystra, there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked.”
In Acts 14, we read the story of a man cripple from birth. What strikes me is not the man’s infirmity but that that’s all that is said about him prior to his healing. It doesn’t say, “There was a man—full of faith— who happened to be crippled…,” or “In Lystra lived a man named James, who happened to have a handicap...” Instead, the Bible, much like the people of his day, led with the obvious: “Now at Lystra, there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked.” Talk about being labeled!
Have you ever been labeled by past failures or infirmities? I know I have. And it stinks. When you accidentally over-hear people talking about you once did this or that. Shame floods your heart and spills over onto your face. Nobody wants to be known for their shortcomings.
Which, in a strange way, is exactly why I love this story. The Bible begins by stating the obvious—the man had issues. But it doesn’t stop there! It says in verse 9 that Paul looked intently at him and saw that he had faith to be made well.
When everyone else saw a man crippled from birth, the Lord saw a heart full of faith.
What’s more, God had the grace to change this man’s state! Before that day, he was known as the man crippled from birth. After that day, he was known as the man God healed. And, in a way, shouldn’t that be true of us all?
Every one of us has baggage that attempts to define us. Past failures, sins, and mistakes all try to stick to us like those “Hello, my name is….” name tags. But praise God, we don’t have to let them! Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, we can have a new identity in Christ! We don’t have to live beneath those old labels.
A couple years ago, I heard a friend say, “Well, Pastor, we’re nothing more than a bunch of sinners…” We’ve probably all said that or something similar before. But then a thought hit me. “Why am I allowing myself to be defined by my past?” Now, when I hear that, I smile politely and humbly respond, “Friend, that used to be my testimony…but now I’m a child of the Most High God! Jesus died to give me a new identity! I’m His.”
Who are you allowing to define you? Whose labels are you listening to? Yours? Others? Or God’s?
Passage Guide: Acts 14 and Psalm 27.