God made them all

“The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane” Acts 10:15.

Acts 10 provides an account of the expansion of Christianity into Caesarea, the first city to have Gentile Christians and a non-Jewish church. God had eyes on Cornelius, a centurion in the Italian regiment, and a devoted, God-fearing, extremely generous and praying man. Peter was the point-man to undertake the task of evangelizing and counselling him. However, Peter had deep and abiding prejudices which had to be eradicated in order for him to become appropriately missional. He needed to see others as God saw them. God had to deal with his case.

Peter believed that Gentiles were inferior people who would not receive God’s favour and redemption. He did not believe a Gentile Roman soldier could accept Jesus. Then God gave Peter a vision.

In his vision he saw a wide variety of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, as well as birds of the air, and was instructed to “kill and eat!” According to Jewish law, certain foods were forbidden to be eaten (see Leviticus 11). Being a strict and faithful Jew with all his traditions, pride and prejudice, Peter was shocked, and promptly declared “No, Lord!…I have never eaten anything impure or unclean” (see Acts 10: 12-14). Can you feel the disdain, disgust and the utter rejection of the act and even the very revolting thought? However, God assured Peter that What God has made clean, you must not call profane.

The creation has ways and means of doing the unusual and unexpected, so we as humans must be careful not to allow our traditions and prejudices to so impair our judgment that we are unable to accept and embrace the unusual. This morning I was reminded of the Peter’s vision when a church member sent me an ackee from her tree. Now normally an ackee has three, and at most, four pods. This one had 13! Interestingly, the member and many of my WhatsApp friends said they would not eat this ackee.

God’s handiwork is all around us and we must never allow our traditions, expectations, pride and prejudices to prevent us from appreciating and enjoying what God is doing or has done, even if it seems strange or abnormal to us. If we are not careful, our traditions and prejudices can frustrate God’s work and condemn some of us to death and destruction.

Cecil F. Alexander wrote:

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.

Do you believe that?

Thought: With all the varieties in the world, there is but one Creator.
Prayer Focus: For deliverance from the negative forces of prejudice