On the Church Steps: Transformation

“He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them” (Acts 3:8, NLT)

Compassion that moves beyond mere accommodation participates and gets involved in a person’s life. While accommodation can be beneficial, God uses our participation to bring about transformation. Reflecting on the lame man in Acts 3, it is quite obvious that the power was God’s but the hand that raised him up was Peter’s.

If you think about your own life for a minute, every significant transformation that has occurred is covered with the fingerprints of those who have walked beside you through your stuff. Those people loved you, accepted you, were patient with you, challenged you, encouraged you, helped you, prayed with you, advised you, sat silently with you, and were available to you. God is clearly the one who works the miracle of transformation. But He uses others to help in significant ways.

Is there anything more exciting than seeing lives change? Is there any greater blessing than having a hand in God's transformational work?