Acts 10 outlines a truth that is repeated over and over in Scripture. For centuries, the Jews prided themselves on being the ones to whom God had chosen to minister. Sadly, for many of those centuries they missed the ultimate calling of God that He had chosen them not only to minister to, but that He had chosen them to minister through. You see, they saw the great pouring out from heaven of God’s truth and God’s justice and God’s love. However, instead of obeying the biblical command to love their neighbors, with a jaded perspective they basked in the thought that God only loved them. Christ “hints” at the blindspot of this view when speaking to Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews, in John 3:16, when He said “God loves the world.” This must have chafed Nicodemus’ mind and understanding of God’s love for His people. Finally, God opened Peter’s eyes in Acts 10. A man who had always thought he was special before God, who argued with John over who would be most revered in heaven next to Christ, Peter had some real favoritism issues. Finally though, God broke through that. Through a vision and a little teaching, Peter soon came to realize v. 34 “God is no respecter of persons.” Finally the gospel of Jesus Christ became pan-national. No longer was the church a Jewish thing, but now hitting any nationality and any ethnic background, Jesus was for all men. God really does love “the whole world.”
Food For Thought: What verse(s) in Galatians 3 points toward the tearing down of hateful racism in those who find Christ?
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