07 September 2010 Devotion for Today "Tabitha" Acts 9:36-43

 36In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas[b]), who was always doing good and helping the poor. 37About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!"

 39Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

 40Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. 42This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

 
 

Acts 9: 36-43

 
 

In this very touching passage we learn of a dear saint whom many loved for her selfless service to the Lord. Her name is Tabitha. We are not told of her age or whether or not she was married, only that she lived in Joppa, that she was a disciple of Jesus Christ, and that she devoted her life to serving Him and helping the needy by making clothes for them. Making clothing is a complicated skill. It requires focus and attention to detail, and is also very labor intensive- especially in the days before the sewing machine. Tabitha must have made some beautiful clothing as special attention was made to the robes and other clothing she had made. She was probably middle-aged- old enough to have acquired such a skill in being a seamstress, yet was not so advanced in age that her death would have been considered understandable. In fact, her sudden illness and death hit the Joppa community so hard that word was sent for Peter immediately to come. Peter prayed and called upon the Lord, and life was restored to the dear woman.

 
 

Tabitha serves as a testimony to us of the joy of self-less devotion to Christ and to others. People like Tabitha are remembered for their sacrificial love and their dedication to serving others. They are sorely missed when they die or unable to do what they used to do because of age or illness. They do not live for accolades or for appreciation, but appreciation still ought to be shown to them anyway. Making clothing is a dying art. It is difficult to find yard goods anymore. Clothing is manufactured cheaply and sold at Walmart because most women today do not have the time to spend making clothing the way my mother and grandmother used to do it. They were also very much like Tabitha. But being remembered as a disciple is an even greater testimony; that is how one learned of and modeled commitment to Jesus Christ. It is interesting how most disciples in the New Testament were characterized by men, but here is a female disciple of Christ who is held up to women as a wonderful example of how a Christian woman ought to live her life. In this Tabitha brought glory to Christ.

 
 

So live your life so that when you die, people will be sorry to see you leave this world.

 
 

Have a blessed day!