May 22: Celebrating His Victory.
HIS BENEVOLENCE.
Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality."--Acts 10:34
As I travel around the world, I am always amazed at how history repeats itself. There are sad chapters in history, when a social, racial, religious, or political group is oppressed by another group which happens to be in power at the time. Unfortunately, when times change, and the tables are turned, frequently the oppressed became the oppressor. This phenomenon is rooted in the core of the human heart, which seeks to exclude others, who are not part of their own group.
In the New Testament, members of the newly-formed Christian community had a hard time understanding that God's benevolence and goodwill was directed towards all individuals, not only those of Jewish background. It was so hard for them to understand God's favor upon the others. The religious people were much harder to convince of the inclusivity of God's love and salvation than the Gentiles were. A case in point is the story of Cornelius and Peter, narrated in Acts 10. Cornelius was a centurion, who had become a God-fearer, which means that he worshipped the God of Israel, but had not converted to Judaism and was not ritually circumcised. On the other hand, Peter had been with Jesus during His public ministry. He was a disciple, one of the twelve, and a member of His inner circle of three disciples who witnessed additional divine manifestations. Having been reinstated to ministry after denying his Master, he experienced Jesus' grace and love firsthand. Yet it took a lot to convince Peter that he should step into Cornelius's house. It was much easier for God to convince Cornelius to send messengers to fetch Peter than it was to convince Peter to go with the messengers to Cornelius. Peter saw a vision three times (verses 10-16), which he then interpreted as: "God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. That is why I came" (verses 28, 29). God's love challenges our biases. He does not show partiality to color, accent, ancestry, or social status. You are His beloved child. Whatever your background or circumstances, He loves you and His victory is for all!
My Response:_________________________________________________________
HIS BENEVOLENCE.
Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality."--Acts 10:34
As I travel around the world, I am always amazed at how history repeats itself. There are sad chapters in history, when a social, racial, religious, or political group is oppressed by another group which happens to be in power at the time. Unfortunately, when times change, and the tables are turned, frequently the oppressed became the oppressor. This phenomenon is rooted in the core of the human heart, which seeks to exclude others, who are not part of their own group.
In the New Testament, members of the newly-formed Christian community had a hard time understanding that God's benevolence and goodwill was directed towards all individuals, not only those of Jewish background. It was so hard for them to understand God's favor upon the others. The religious people were much harder to convince of the inclusivity of God's love and salvation than the Gentiles were. A case in point is the story of Cornelius and Peter, narrated in Acts 10. Cornelius was a centurion, who had become a God-fearer, which means that he worshipped the God of Israel, but had not converted to Judaism and was not ritually circumcised. On the other hand, Peter had been with Jesus during His public ministry. He was a disciple, one of the twelve, and a member of His inner circle of three disciples who witnessed additional divine manifestations. Having been reinstated to ministry after denying his Master, he experienced Jesus' grace and love firsthand. Yet it took a lot to convince Peter that he should step into Cornelius's house. It was much easier for God to convince Cornelius to send messengers to fetch Peter than it was to convince Peter to go with the messengers to Cornelius. Peter saw a vision three times (verses 10-16), which he then interpreted as: "God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. That is why I came" (verses 28, 29). God's love challenges our biases. He does not show partiality to color, accent, ancestry, or social status. You are His beloved child. Whatever your background or circumstances, He loves you and His victory is for all!
My Response:_________________________________________________________
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