In the 9th chapter of the book of Acts, verses 36 through 42, the story opens with the illness and eventual death of Dorcas, a woman who was highly esteemed in the community for her good works. The apostle Peter prayed for Dorcas as her friends stood by weeping. According to the Bible, God used Peter to restore Dorcas to life.
Join me as I take a closer look at Dorcas’ life. A model of servitude and kindness, I hope Dorcas’ story will offer inspiration as well as reveal many fruitful lessons.
She was a woman of Beauty
The Bible text does not tell us whether she possessed physical beauty, but we know that she was beautiful in the eyes of God and in the eyes of the widows and the poor that she helped. “Women are to gain respect, not by physical
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beauty, but by the good deeds that are appropriate for women who worship God” (1 Timothy 2:9-10). She was evidently a Christian, being called “a certain disciple” (Acts 9:38). From the very beginning, the church in Joppa was known as a centre of fervent evangelism and a well-organised social service provider. Dorcas probably came to Christ in this church where she witnessed the vision of service. She was a Woman full of Good Works. Among her good works was that of making clothes for widows (Acts 9:39) and the needy of her church and community with her own loving hands. The words of Jesus had no doubt been the moving power in her soul: She helped the “least of these” (Matthew 25: 35-40). Religion, which God our Father accepts as pure and faultless, is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27). She must have been a woman of some means or she would not have been able to give so much to help others. It could possibly have been in a godly home that she was taught how to use her fingers and funds for the comfort and relief of the needy. She was the cause of an evangelistic explosion This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord (Acts 9:42). In Joppa, we see Him using Dorcas to show the world His truth about who He is, to display His power and cause many to come to faith. She was loved and respected in her community The people loved her and could not bear to see her die!
The picture of the people gathered about her weeping does not describe people who are sorry for the service they have lost, but people who remembered her self-consuming service, her compassion, her faithfulness and her charity. They knew that they had lost their dearest friend “In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matt 5:16).
Her example initiated a charitable society – the Dorcas Society – dedicated to doing acts of charitable service.
Friend, the world is a busy place. It often seems to take all our energy just to get ourselves through the day. But, we need to remember the example of Dorcas. Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and truth.
WHAT IS THAT IN THINE HAND? This question would probably have come to Dorcas as it did to Moses. Her name to this day stands for the benevolent use of her ‘needle’.
The hands that dispensed alms and made garments were inwardly inspired by HIM whose hands were nailed to a tree.
Dorcas’ work of making clothes and helping the poor may sound insignificant when compared to the outstanding works of the apostles. Yet, her deeds were so widely known that God inspired Luke to include them in the book of Acts.
. Friend… WHAT IS THAT IN THINE HAND?
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