Acts 3:16
And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Likewise, our faith in Christ gives us strength we never had before, abilities we never had before, opportunities and blessings we never had before.  What were we before Christ but handicapped by sin and its effects.  What were we but incomplete and lacking.  We were nothing but needy beggars unable to solve anything in and of ourselves.  But through a relationship with Jesus Christ, we also have this perfect soundness, and we are whole in Him alone because He can heal us completely.

And then this change that Jesus brings to us is one that can be witnessed by others.  The difference that Jesus makes in our lives should be as visible as it was in this lame man walking and leaping in the temple.  We don’t go back to begging, but we go on to something better and more fulfilling.  We don’t stay wrapped up in the old man and the things of this world, but we become someone completely new.  Christ’s power gives us that kind of transformation that others will notice.

But this kind of amazing change has to start with faith.  It was not a faith that trusted in himself or what he could do.  It was not a faith that trusted in the disciples as if they held some power within themselves.  But it is faith in Jesus and what He can do.  It is faith that He died for us and rose again to take away our sin.  It is faith that He gives life where only death had reigned before.  It is faith that He has power over anything that would seek to hold us down.  It is faith that He is able, that His words are true, and that He is working among us.

Have we experienced this kind of transformation for ourselves?  Do we have the faith in God that He can make us into something completely different than we were before?  And have we maintained the joyfulness and passion that our first taste of His love had injected into us?  Are we praising Him and honoring Him with our lives?  And then are we sharing His love with those around us so that they may experience their own transformation through the mighty power of His name?