As I started my interviewing season through the Business school at my University, I was
equipped with three interviewing principles: a blue suit, a firm handshake, and eye contact. We watch ministers and politicians look directly into the camera to speak to us face-to-face and connect with us. It may have been a meeting of the eyes that sparked a romantic relationship. Why is eye contact so important? Eye contact is a non-verbal communication that impacts one’s ability to converse. It is thought that conversation skills, in which eye contact is critical, can facilitate and enrich life and develop personality traits. In fact, studies show that with the use of AI humanoids, it is recommended to incorporate eye contact to enhance consumer trust and experience.
Acts 14:9 presents a compelling account of healing eye contact. What was Paul’s experience when he made eye contact with the man at Lystra? The scripture tells us that a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. An article written by Michael Obladan published in the National Library of Medicine suggests that a child lame from birth could be early signs of cerebral palsy. He goes on to say that deformations at birth were viewed as God’s wrath. Perhaps this man falls into the category reported by Healthline.com in which 1 out of 33 babies in the United States is born with a congenital disability. Of these defects, maybe he had club feet. A condition in which a child’s foot or feet point inward instead of forward. Today, we have the luxury of observing this condition before birth through an ultrasound. And while parents today would not want to hear this news for their son, given that the condition is more prevalent in boys, they would not view it as a life-altering condition.
It is, however, a life-altering condition for the man at Lystra. The Bible does not elaborate on
how the man became lame; the critical point is that he had never walked a day. While some
people have done some amazing things without the ability to walk, Joni and Friends, for
example, most cannot share the experience of being unable to walk. Today, our vision of
someone who cannot walk may take us to someone we know who navigates a well-lived life in a wheelchair. This man probably did not have the benefit of a wheelchair.
How did Paul encounter this man? Paul had been doing what Paul does, speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord. Paul demonstrated God’s grace through the signs and wonders that were being done by his hands. The Gentiles and the Jews tried to capture Paul to mistreat him and stone him. Paul learns of the attempt to harm him and dips from Iconium to Lycaonia, Lystra, and Derbe. Although preaching the gospel had proved dangerous, Paul continued to preach the gospel at Lystra. The lame man listens to Paul speak the gospel. When they gaze at each other, Paul sees that the man had faith to be made well.
Regardless of the difficulty we may be experiencing as entrepreneurs, we must be poised to
receive the healing Jesus is prepared to give. As the man from Lystra, we become positioned for healing by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we must use our eye contact to assert that we have Godfidence in the business God has given us to steward. Entrepreneurs, if you are sitting at Lystra with no strength to walk, know that the gospel and your faith will allow you to hear these words: “Stand upright on your feet.”
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