Tuesday, May 4, 2010
By Dave Sonnenberg
“You will be criticized. Your motives will be questioned. People will disagree with you. You may be viewed skeptically by some.”
We might not want to put that on any enlistment brochure for the Christian life yet, it’s true. If we live by faith and err on the side of grace and mercy as Jesus did, we will challenge people, most notably ourselves. What is comfortable in life is to live with the understanding that we are part of the “inside group” and others are part of the “outside group”. What is even more comfortable is to think that those on the “outside” deserve to be there. What is really challenging is to reject the comfortable and challenge ourselves to treat “the other” as a beloved child of God- especially those different from us or those we choose to not associate ourselves with. If we live daring lives, we will hear the challenge to expand our embrace and sphere of care to include more people. Some will criticize us for that, but we need not give in or be overcome by that criticism. Peter was not overcome by that criticism in his day for welcoming the Gentiles nor should we in our day.
Acts 11: 1-18
11Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, 3saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’ 4Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, 5‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. 6As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” 8But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” 9But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” 10This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. 11At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. 12The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; 14he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.” 15And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. 16And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 17If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?’ 18When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’
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