Acts 3-4: The treasure we can't help sharing

Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. (Acts 3:6)

As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:20)

Read the whole story here: Acts 3:1-4:31


Acts 3 and 4 cover the story of Peter healing the lame beggar, his resulting sermon to the crowds of onlookers, the arrest of Peter and John that followed, and finally their release and reuniting with the other believers.  The whole thing is almost bookended by the two sentences I have included above, both spoken by Peter.

Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. (Acts 3:6)

What is the most precious thing we can give someone?  I can think of many things that are precious and useful: some can be bought with money, others cannot.  Some can be touched and seen, others cannot.  But the most important thing we can give someone is the living Jesus.  It is likened in the Bible to a pearl of great price that a man sold everything he had to own (Matthew 13:45-46), a treasure - although in jars of clay (that's us) (2 Corinthians 4:7) that we must protect and value above all else (1 Timothy 1:14).

But unlike a very precious earthly thing, unlike a precious pearl, it can be shared infinitely.  There is no limit on God's love.  It is not something that must be kept under lock and key like the crown jewels, or something that only a select few can have.  My daughter has been singing an old classic at school that I used to sing: Love is something if you give it away.  The verse goes like this:

It's just like a magic penny.

Hold it tight and you won't have any

Lend it, spend it, and you'll have so many

They'll roll all the floor!

Real money would lose its value if it were to multiply over and over again (as any country that has tried 'quantitative easing' has found out!), but it is not so with the gospel - the magic penny - we can give it away forever and all that will happen is that God will be glorified even more.

But what does this treasure look like?  When Peter said: what I do have, what exactly was he talking about?  The status as an apostle being used by God to perform miraculous signs?  The gift of preaching and teaching?  Peter was uneducated - he had not been to theological college.  What he had was the Holy Spirit, through whom he had experienced God change his life.  

As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:20)

When we see something, feel something, hear something - we tell others.  I have heard many evangelists in my time: people who talk about juice diets, people who talk about mindfulness, people who talk about cycling (the 'wellness' demographic are clearly well represented in my workplace).  Sharing the gospel is sharing our story and how God has broken into it, and if we get that, we cannot help speaking about it.

Finally, we do this in the power of the Holy Spirit.  He is with us - empowering us.  The Holy Spirit emboldened Peter to be unafraid of the authorities (Acts 4:8) and inspired all the believers to speak the word of God boldly (Acts 4:31).

We have something to share - let's share it.

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