"When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, 'You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?'"
(Acts 3:12)
Peter & John are on their way inside the temple and they see a lame beggar. They offer him healing in Jesus' name, and he is healed! He then follows them inside, praising God. It causes quite a stir (as you could well imagine), because everyone knows this guy from passing him all the time! Peter uses the attention to preach. He begins by making sure God gets the credit. "Why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we made him well?"
How humble & insightful. It's not our power, but God's! And we're not "all that and a bag of chips," either. We're not "holier-than-thou." We're not super-believers. It's all God. It's all Jesus. We're just the instruments God chooses to use.
We pastors have a lot to learn form this (and it's not that we can heal like Peter & John, if only we'll have enough faith). I think it's human nature to want to take credit for all the good stuff we're a part of. But really, it's all God. Seriously. I'll try to do a better job of giving credit where credit is due!
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