Day 166

1 Kings 14:1–15:24; Acts 10:1-23; Psalm 133:1-3; Proverbs 17:7-8

IN OUR READING from Acts today, a truly pivotal awareness began to settle over the apostle Peter —one with far-reaching implications that continue to affect the world today.

We read of two different visionary experiences that would catapult those who received them toward one another in unlikely ways. First, a Roman centurion named Cornelius saw an angel who instructed him to send for Peter (who was in another city) and bring him to his home. The angel gave no further instructions or context, other than that God had heard Cornelius’s prayers and seen his gifts to the poor. Cornelius then dispatched two servants and one soldier to Joppa, located along the Mediterranean coast, to fetch Peter.

The next day, as these travelers were entering Joppa, Peter had a vision of his own in which he was instructed to eat the meat of animals that had been previously off-limits due to Mosaic prohibitions. Peter wrestled heartily with this concept because he had never eaten anything unclean and considered it a sin to do so.

“Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean,” the voice in Peter’s vision instructed (Acts 10:15). The vision was repeated three times, and then the Holy Spirit instructed Peter, “Three men have come looking for you. Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them” (Acts 10:19-20).

Although we’ll have to wait until tomorrow’s reading to continue the story and contemplate its implications, we can already see the disruptive hand of God in it. Cornelius was a Roman soldier. Jewish people did not associate kindly with Romans —they were unclean and were not part of the exclusive worship of the God of Israel. On the other hand, Peter was instructed to partake of food that had been considered unclean and was then instructed by the Holy Spirit to depart with Gentile people with whom social interaction was heavily frowned upon.

God was reframing what each of these people thought they knew. And He continues to disrupt the things that cage us. Thankfully, the boundaries God was expanding with Peter and Cornelius would change the world.

MEDITATION:

How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the LORD has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.