Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Faith Beyond Barriers
Acts 10:44-48
Acts 10:44-48
Benson Babu
Long Island MTC, New York
44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell
upon all who heard the word. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were
astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the
Gentiles,
It is sad to see that regardless of
how far we have advanced as a society, we have used our differences to isolate
ourselves from each other instead of using our differences to unite ourselves
or at least acknowledge and appreciate our diversities. Even in various
Christian families and communities, we see our differences in doctrines and
beliefs to be catalysts for contention and strife. What if we stopped to
ask ourselves the question: Is this what God intended for us when He made us
all unique?
In the New Testament, as early Christianity
began to take root in various parts of Israel and Asia minor, we see a subtle
form of discrimination slowly make its way into the church. At this point, the
earliest of converts were people of Jewish origin. Some of the Jews who
converted to Christianity felt that the Christianity was an extension of their
Jewish faith. In other words, non-Jews were not part of this ministry or worthy
of salvation or had to become Jews first in order to become saved.
In the passage above, Peter watched
as the Holy Spirit descended on a group of non-believers. And prior to this
occurrence, he had a vision in which the Holy Spirit showed him a sheet with
many living creatures and told Peter to kill and to eat. Peter initially
responded by saying that he had never touched or eaten anything unclean.
However, the Holy Spirit admonished Peter not to call unclean what God had made
clean. And as Peter saw the Holy Spirit descend on these people, he came
to understand what God meant. The Gentiles were not unclean people;
rather they were made partakers of the same holiness that the Jewish community
embraced. Through the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, now they were
equally empowered with Jewish Christians to spread the message of Christianity
throughout the world.
This
experience emboldened Peter to see that God’s love was not confined by color or
race or ancestry. The apostle Paul also expressed a similar understanding
in the book of Galatians when he writes….”there
is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and
female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3: 28)
Today, even though we claim to be
part of a post-modern society, we still see the barriers that we collectively
and individually have set up against others. We judge others based on
what we perceive externally. And it’s in moments such as these we need to ask
God for a revelation, just as He did with Peter. God’s love transcends
all barriers and our God is a God that looks at the heart and not the outward
appearance (1 Samuel 16:7).
PRAYER
God help us not to
judge others or discriminate against the people You have placed in the world
but help us see that we are conduits in this world to share Your love. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
" John 3:16.