As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord's people who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. "Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. (Acts 9:32-35)
After the scattering of the church at the stoning of Stephen in Acts, chapter 8, we discover together with Philip, Saul, and Peter that it's not safe out there in the world. Not just because the disciples face death threats, mind you, but more because the Sovereign Lord is moving about through His Spirit in the Name of Jesus.
Just listen: Who does Peter visit? The Lord's people. Who healed Aeneas? "Jesus Christ heals." Who preached the Word that transformed the lives of all those in Lydda and Sharon? Jesus' healing action manifested in the life and body of Aeneas. Everyone saw him and turned to the Lord. Peter didn't do a thing but show up and witness to what Jesus was doing.
So Peter isn't actually the main character in this story. Neither were Saul, Philip, or Ananias before him. The main character remains the same throughout all these accounts: it's Jesus. Peter simply joins the list of those discovering and witnessing the Lord's work out there "about the country."
If Jesus is the main character in the story of Acts, it begs the question: whose the main character in your life's story? We tend to think it is ourselves. We are the ones engaged in the doing, conversing, and deciding. So we're the main character of our own stories, aren't we?
I think the book of Acts would like to tell us: "No. We are side characters in God's story, not the other way round."
The Father is the main character. The one who gives us life and breath—a world to live in, and the gifts and skill to meaningfully work and play in it.
Jesus is the main character. The one who redeems our lives, heals us, reconciles us together into his community of the Church, and sends us forward in mission.
The Spirit is the main character. The one who continues to empower our prayers, our mission, and our loves, molding us into the likeness of Christ all the while.
So, as you live the story of your own life, is your attention focused on the main character?
