Acts 10:38

Few words, yet an exquisite miniature of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are not many touches, but they are the strokes of a master’s pencil.

Of the Savior, and only of the Savior, is it true in the fullest, broadest, and most unqualified sense: He went about doing good.

From this description, it is evident that He did good personally.

The evangelists constantly tell us that He touched the leper with His own finger, that He anointed the eyes of the blind, and that in cases where He was asked to speak the word only at a distance, He did not usually comply, but went Himself to the sickbed and there personally performed the cure.

This is a lesson to us: if we want to do good, we should do it ourselves. Give alms with your own hand; a kind look or word will enhance the value of the gift. Speak to a friend about his soul; your loving appeal will have more influence than a whole library of tracts.

Our Lord’s mode of doing good sets forth His incessant activity! He did not only do the good which came close at hand, but He “went about” on His errands of mercy.

Throughout the whole land of Judea, there was scarcely a village or a hamlet which was not gladdened by the sight of Him.

How this reproves the creeping, loitering manner in which many professing Christians serve the Lord! Let us gird up the loins of our mind and not be weary in well-doing.

Does not the text imply that Jesus Christ went out of His way to do good? He went about doing good.

He was never deterred by danger or difficulty. He sought out the objects of His gracious intentions.

So must we. If old plans do not work, we must try new ones, for fresh experiments sometimes achieve more than regular methods.

Christ’s perseverance and the unity of His purpose are also hinted at. The practical application of the subject may be summed up in the words, He hath left us an example that we should follow in His steps.