Daily Devotion, October 7, 2020

 

Devotion: Read Acts 10:34-48.

The characters in Acts 10 are: Cornelius, an Angel, Simon Peter, Simon the Tanner, the three men sent from Cornelius to find Simon Peter, some believers from Joppa, relatives and close friends of Cornelius, the Holy Spirit, and the believers back in Jerusalem (from Acts 11) who were complaining about Peter’s being with Gentile people.  If this story were a theater production, which character would you be? This story definitely has an “insiders” group and an “outsiders” group. Where would you place yourself in the story?

Having been “in” the church since I was in the church’s nursery, I always placed myself in this story as an “insider”, the one with the message to be taken to the Gentile people. In my mid-twenties it dawned on me that if Simon Peter had never taken the message to the Gentile people, I might have never known Christ! If I had lived during the times of The Book of Acts, I would have been in the “outsiders” group! How would that have felt? No wonder Cornelius and his family and friends were rejoicing that God’s message in Christ included them, and that they were no longer on the outside of God’s grace!

Rev. Adam Hamilton says, “Luke devotes two chapters to this story, and for good reason. This is the hinge point not only of the Book of Acts, but of the entire Christian faith. Had this vision and Cornelius’s conversion not occurred, Christianity may have remained a small sect within Judaism.”

When one has been on the “inside” of the church for a long time, it’s easy to lose the vision of God’s love, welcome and offer of salvation for all the people of the earth. We can all give God thanks for Simon Peter’s words in Acts 10:34, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men (and women) from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” Simon Peter continued to learn!

The Holy Spirit teaches Peter that he need not try to figure out who has a good relationship with God. God will take care of that. We are called to be witnesses to the “ends of the earth!” Personal Worship Option: Forgive us for stepping into your role as judge, O God. Let us humbly and simply remember that we too, like all the people of the earth, are the recipients of Your grace in Christ. Surprise us with a new understanding and vision of your welcome for all people. Empower us to give witness of your grace in words and in actions of love. Amen.