Acts 10 Cornelius is a man presented in this chapter. He is from Caesarea, and a military man in the area. Luke writes that Cornelius was a man who was "God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly." He was given a vision to find Peter in Joppa, but was not told why. Cornelius obeyed, even though the reason was not fully present to him (verse 33). Sometimes, we don't know exactly why God gives us these hunches, or why He uses His Spirit to tell us what we think we are hearing. Cornelius was waiting for Peter to speak and instruct...we should wait as well. God doesn't reveal everything at once, and for us that makes it difficult to follow His instructions. We need to trust regardless. Let's learn from Cornelius in this example.
Later in this chapter, Peter speaks of his vision:
"He [Peter] became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' 'Surely not, Lord!' Peter replied. 'I have never eaten anything impure of unclean.' The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' (10-17)
Peter explains the meaning of his vision, and teaches Cornelius (and family and friends) about favoritism. Verse 34 says "...I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism." Reflect back to Peter's vision. "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." Even though we were born with natural sin in our lives, we are still made "clean." Not clean from sin (Romans 3:23) but clean enough to be given a chance to repent. Through that repentance we are clean. God made us in His image...every one of us. No one person is better than the other. Because we were made in His image, we were a perfect creation that has unfortunately been given the same fate because of the presence of sin (Romans 3:9-12).
Peter's context in this was that no one should be given favoritism over another group in hearing the gospel. The Gentiles are entitled to hear the good news just as much as the Jews. So...why should we think anything different in our lives today? Replace Gentiles with another race or group of people that you may think twice about reaching out to. Or even, think about a specific person that you just feel that you can't stand. We all have our select few individuals that we feel either want nothing to do with us, or look down upon us. So we hesitate to even reach out to them. Some of them may claim to be just as strong of Christians as we are.
Let me tell you something...if you think that way, the other person(s) may as well. God confronted the Pharisees, even though he knew fully well they wanted to kill him. Peter stood up to the rulers when confronted about speaking the gospel. They didn't even try to put walls up to distance themselves...they just went in and did it. Instead of using that energy to build your wall, use it to conquer what's on the other side of that wall. Go over there and touch a life. Show love and compassion like Jesus shows us numerous times. "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:2-3). God doesn't want us to pick and choose, nor does he want us to separate ourselves from other fellowship opportunities.
Get out of your boat that's all about you, and step into someone else's. Show compassion to your fellow man, even if they don't to you. Trust me...you don't look any better, nor does anyone see anything different in you. Live like Jesus so EVERYONE can see Him. Reach out. If you show favoritism, show it to everybody. Because honestly, we are all God's favorite.
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