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As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord\u2019s people who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. \u201cAeneas,\u201d Peter said to him, \u201cJesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.\u201d Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. (Acts 9:32-35)

After the scattering of the church at the stoning of Stephen in Acts, chapter 8, we tag along with an unlikely group of Deacons, sorcerers, foreign dignitaries, faithful saints on the frontiers, and venomous enemies-turned-friends. Those are the stories of Philip, Simon the Sorcerer, the Ethiopian Eunuch, Ananias, and Saul.

Peter and John show up in one of those stories as a side bar: really just to check in and make sure everything was up to snuff when they heard some Samaritan outsiders had believed the Gospel, but then they disappear back to Jerusalem.

It's only here after Saul's conversion that Peter, the foremost among the apostles, reenters the story as the main character. After holing up in Jerusalem following the scattering of the church, Peter himself is now finally venturing out "about the country."

As he does, Peter discovers what others like Philip and Saul had discovered already: it's not safe out there on the loose. The Sovereign Lord is moving about through His Spirit in the Name of Jesus.

Just listen: Who does Peter visit? The Lord's people. Who healed Aeneas? "Jesus Christ heals." Who preached the Word that transformed the lives of all those in Lydda and Sharon? Jesus' healing action manifested in the life and body of Aeneas. Everyone saw him and turned to the Lord. Peter didn't do a thing but show up and witness to what Jesus was doing.

So, Peter doesn't actually become the main character. Neither had Saul, Philip, or Ananias before him. The main character remained the same throughout all these accounts: God. Peter simply joins the list of those discovering and witnessing God's work "about the country" among the scattered church.

It begs the question: whose the main character in your life's story? We tend to think it is ourselves. We're the main character of our own stories, aren't we?

I think the book of Acts would like to tell us: "no. We're side characters in God's story, not the other way round."

God is the main character. The one who gave us life and breath\u2014a world to live in, and the gifts and skill to navigate it.

Jesus is the main character. The one who redeemed our lives and holds them fast in body and soul, life and in death\u2014even against pandemics, unemployment, and the anxieties of the future.

The Spirit is the main character. The one who continues to do new things, bringing change that hurts, but that also gives fresh opportunities for being molded into the likeness of Christ in humility, love, compassion, and grace.

So, are you following the story? Is your attention focused on the main character?

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