April 10

Such as I have give I thee. — Acts 3:6

The lame man, in asking alms, thought only of receiving bits of money. It seemed kindness to give him what he asked. There were no hospitals or homes in those days for the crippled, and the only way for them to live, if poor, was to beg.

Christianity teaches us that we should be kind to all in distress. Peter and John did not fail in this duty. First, they treated him in a Christian way.

A Russian writer tells of meeting a beggar on day. He felt in all his pockets and then said, “I am sorry, brother, that I have nothing to give you.” The beggar thanked him and said he had done more for him than if he had given him silver: he had called him “brother.”

These apostles treated the lame man as a brother. Then, instead of giving him silver and gold, they healed him. Was not that better than any alms they could have given? Money would have supported him a little longer in his beggary – what they did made it unnecessary for him to sit at the gate begging any longer.