Cornelius receives instructions from the Lord in a vision when "one day at about three in the afternoon," (a customary hour for prayer). And Peter was having his quiet time when God made him fall into a tance to communicate something important. i think these men are demonstrating that when we are praying and being on our knees regularly, God uses that channel to communicate to his faithful followers
Peter receives instructions to "kill and eat" the animals (shown while in a trance) that up till then the Jewish law forbid, calling them unclean. the voice spoke to him three times! sometimes it's hard for us the think differently than what the world has taught us... and perhaps it's not really about eating the certain types of meat more than understanding what Jesus tried to teach us... "What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'" (Mat 15:11)
i love how God brings these men together... they are from different backgrounds, Jew and gentile. both love the Lord and are faithful to follow instructions believing God has a purpose for their encounter
i pray that for all of us... that when we meet a stranger, we can show the love of God and just want to be used of Him who send people into our lives... for His purpose and Glory!
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3 comments:
Helen, it's so good to hear from you. Your wise reflections are always a pleasure to read.
This passage made me wonder: how did Cornelius, being a gentile, come to approach God in the first place?
Was it through another religion?
Can people of other religions approach the God Jehovah, the God "I am"?
I have heard it said that human beings have this God shaped hole that they long to fill. It that what Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Catholics-"Christians" are trying to do? Worship the God they know exist without fully knowing who He really is? Are they responding to the revelation of God through creation but somehow got lost in the translation? Then perhaps God does acknowledge the earnest and sincere devotion of those that do acknowledge the reality of a Greater being though they may be Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Catholics, Jehovah witnesses, etc. If only they could receive the gospel of Jesus Christ rather than rejecting it as the liturgy of another "religion". As it was with Cornelius, I guess only God can prepare him or her to not only receive the Gospel but also to deliver it- as it was with Peter.
Is this a story of conversion? Or a story that's similar to the Ethiopian who read God's word but needed someone to deliver the Gospel to him. Hmmmmmm...
I only know I must be prepared and know that nothing is impossible with God. As Helen wrote, that regular quiet time with God is crucial in being ready to "show the love of God and just want to be used of Him who send people into our lives... for His purpose and Glory!"
Thanks again Helen :)
Thanks for your reflection Helen :)
You bring up a great point that God uses prayer as a channel to communicate to us. Although it may seem as if we are the only ones doing the "talking", God uses our prayer time to respond to what we have to say or ask for. Just another reason why it is so important to continually be in prayer, because this is one way to stay in-tuned with God and His way of guiding our lives.
thanks for an insightful reflection, helen. the gospel makes a new creation of us, which often means that old traditions and ways of thinking need to be undone. the old jewish dietary laws of "clean" and "unclean" animals were parallel to the jewish belief that the jews were God's people while the gentiles were all "unclean" and not to be associated with. so firmly is this teaching entrenched in peter's mind that he is not able at first to accept the wonderful implication of the gospel--that all are equal in Christ--and that the way of salvation is open to both jews and gentiles alike.
our old ways of thinking needed to be tried and tested in the light of the truth of the gospel. we may discover that much of what we stubbornly hold to is mere tradition rather than eternal truth. for the gospel to really take hold of us, many of these "old" patterns of thinking need to be uprooted.
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