Walk on by...

Today I was looking at Acts 3:1-10.  This is the story of Peter and John healing a person who could not walk who was sitting near the Beautiful Gate.  What caught my eye is this:  verse 1 says, "One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon."  So Peter and John were walking with a purpose.  The man saw them, and asked them for alms as they passed.

What do we normally do when someone on the street asks for money? Walk on by, I think.  But Peter and John stopped to help the man.

The image that came to mind as I read this was Moses and the burning bush.  Exodus 3:3 says, "Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up." 

To me, in both of these stories, the will of god was done because people stopped and noticed.  They payed attention.  Moses turned aside.  Peter and John heard the man who was asking them for help. 

Do we do that? Do we turn aside to ask why the bush is not being consumed by the fire, or do we walk on by? Do we seek to help the person who asks, or do we walk on by?