And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. (Acts 3:7 ESV)
Unlame
I used to suffer with an ingrown toenail. It is surprising how a little thing like a sore toe can have such devastating effects. Walking was painful, not walking was painful, sitting was painful, reclining was painful, even sleeping was painful.
Self-remedies were ineffective, careful trimming was temporary, relief was brief. Finally, I underwent a procedure by a podiatrist. And I’ve been walking pain free for nearly twenty years.
While I was not exactly lame, I have sympathy for the lame in the Bible.
And I believe God frequently (from Jacob’s limping, through Mephibosheth, through the healing of the lame in the gospels and Acts) makes use of the lame as a metaphor for our broken lives for good reason.
Being lame effects everything. Being lame is hopeless. Being lame brings ridicule, insecurity, and sorrow.
Just like sin.
But God fixes the lame in the Bible, and He fixes our sin and sin’s effects, too.
In fact, really, the whole world is lame, because the whole world is enmeshed in sin’s troubles.
But God has unlamed His people, through Christ alone.
We are peculiar, we are unlamed.