Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
Act 3:6-7
Two thoughts to consider.
First, when the church had no silver and gold, they knew they had no silver and gold. They didn’t depend on silver and gold. And they didn’t offer what silver and gold can buy. Fast forward to 2020. While most churches still have neither silver or gold, others possess enormous wealth, and operate in opulence. No names, but from a “church” on which the “vicar of Christ” sits on a throne surrounded by vast wealth, to some media ministries whose leaders’s are multi-millionaires, some sectors of the “church” certainly have lots of silver and gold. But in some cases, they have very little in the way of Christ and the gospel.
Second, not only did Peter speak healing to the disabled man (as only Christ and the Apostles could effectively do), he extended a hand to help the man stand and walk. As Christians, individually and corporately, we do well to assist those in need. But we generally do people no favors if we aim to give “a hand out, instead of a hand up.” Let us lift people up to Christ (through prayer, evangelism, and other practical assistance) even though we can not lift them out of all their problems.