28 March - Acts 10

Today we are reading Acts chapter 10 together. Here are some quick thoughts:

1. The chapter starts out with a man named Cornelius, who wasn’t a follower of God, having a vision from God to send men to a specific place to find Peter. Cornelius obeyed.
2. Then Peter received a vision from God too. This vision was very weird but it had to do with what the Jewish people considered “clean and unclean” to eat. God had previously told the Jewish people that certain kinds of animals were good to eat (i.e. clean) and others were not good to eat (i.e. unclean). In this vision God gave Peter both clean and unclean animals, and God told him to eat them. Peter was confused.
3. As Peter was trying to figure this vision out God told him to go downstairs and go with the men who were looking for them. Peter obeyed.
4. Then Peter went with Cornelius’s servants to his house and told them about Jesus.  

This chapter is very important for those of us who are not Jewish. In this chapter God shows Peter that he wants a relationship with everyone not just the Jewish people (which is what they previously thought). In verse 34 Peter says, “I now know how true it is that God does not show favoritism. . .” This is what God meant by showing Peter the vision of clean and unclean animals and telling him to eat them all. The Jewish people thought non-Jewish people were unclean and therefore God would not want a relationship with them. But Jesus showed otherwise and God was confirming this again to Peter and the apostles. 

Does this make you think any different? Does it make you appreciate more having a chance to hear about Jesus and how much God loves you? Does it make you see people who are really different from you in a new way? Maybe if we focused less on our differences and more on how alike we are the world would be a better place. This applies to all of us, Christian and skeptic alike.