Read Acts 11:1-18.
Change isn’t easy. Doing something different from the way we’ve always done it. Leaving our comfort zone. But sometimes it’s necessary. A child who is in my youth group was diagnosed a few years ago with severe ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammation and production of ulcers in their colon and rectum. This meant they had to dramatically change their eating and drinking habits. They had always eaten healthy, but now their diet became radically simple, bland, all-natural, and extremely regimented, as all sorts of standard ingredients and additives put in today’s food were a cause for concern. I remember how in the beginning they would eat correctly for a week or two, improving in their overall health, but then go back to their old ways, get sick, and even end up in the hospital on several occasions. Eventually they made the choice to stick with the new plan and now, as much as it will always affect their life, the sickness has decreased dramatically. As hard as the change was, they have never been happier. A dramatic change in diet is also featured heavily in Acts 11:1-18, but in this case it’s a metaphor for something else. Acts 11 records the moment when Christ’s church was opened up to all people of all nations and Peter is questioned for taking the first steps in this mission. In verses 1 through 18 the disciples in Jerusalem told Peter that he had some explaining to do. They had heard that Peter had eaten with and associated with the Gentiles. In their eyes, this was embarrassing and totally inappropriate because the Jews always kept themselves separate from the Gentiles…because the Jews considered the Gentiles to be “unclean.” Who do we consider to be unclean today? Who do we have a hard time including? Acts 11:1-18 is a summary of the events in Acts 10 with a few additional details. This passage is awesome because it shows that nothing can stand in the way of God’s love...in the first century or in the 21st century. God breaks down the walls that divide and asks us to do the same. So…once again...who are the people we would consider to be “unclean?” Labeling people violates the message of the gospel by excluding people just because they are different from us. Remember, as Peter discovered in Acts 10 and 11, call nothing unclean that God has made clean.
0 Comments
|
Bio
I am a UMC pastor, appointed to serve as a chaplain for two senior adult living communities. My wife is a general music teacher and middle school band director, and we have two sons – 18 and 14. Archives
March 2020
Reflections From The Run
|