Divine double take

Are you ready for some good news?

With the eyes of Jesus, you can see the people in your life in a whole new light.

In Acts 3, on their way into the temple, Peter and John encounter a lame man asking for alms. The disciples probably had walked this same route hundreds of times, going to the temple for routine prayer. Most likely, they would have passed this same man, in this same place, every time.

Maybe, occasionally, Peter would have flipped the disabled man a coin. Or maybe John and Peter had never taken note of the poor man at all. But, on this remarkable day, the Scripture reports: “And Peter directed his gaze on him, as did John, and said ‘Look at us’” (Acts 3:4). It was as if Peter did a double take.

In that moment, something made Peter stop and look. Peter saw something no one else saw. He saw a miracle in the making.

Peter tells the lame man to rise up and walk, and he does. Oh, how he does!—leaping and shouting for joy. Under the power of the Spirit, instead of seeing the man as a helpless cripple destined for a life of begging, Peter suddenly saw the lame man through the eyes of Jesus, the Healer.

Through the eyes of Jesus, Peter saw a miracle before it happened. That’s how faith works. Every great discovery, invention or accomplishment comes through the eyes of faith—the capacity to see something that others don’t see.

Sir Isaac Newton once said: “If I ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent.”

When you discover something, you don’t create it—you see it. The force of gravity wasn’t new. Newton’s vision of the principle was new.

Similarly, Steve Jobs has said, “When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something.”

Peter had no silver or gold. That wasn’t the lame man’s deepest need. Through Jesus’ eyes, Peter saw a greater possibility. Our mission is not to rescue every needy person we encounter. Our mission is simply to see them as Jesus sees them. When you ask Jesus for His eyes, you’ll find yourself taking divine double takes that release miracles. And that’s the Gospel!