There’s No Such Thing as an Outsider



Acts 10:1-8
1At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort,
2a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.
3About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.”
4And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.
5And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.
6He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
7When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him,
8and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Chapter 10 of Acts is all about visions sent from God so this people might better serve Him. First we have a vision for a Gentile soldier. Cornelius is the commander for 100 men in the Roman army. He is not ethnically Jewish but has converted to the faith with the exception of circumcision. So he would not be welcomed at the temple but he is welcomed by God. It is time for Cornelius and his family to meet Jesus and God wants Peter to make the introductions.  Instead of vision going to Peter, instructing him to go meet Cornelius, instead the angel appears to Cornelius. This passage points us to the truth of God’s love for everyone. The appearance of the angel to Cornelius is completely unexpected and probably extremely surprising. But faith kicks into gear and obedience follows surprise. God does whatever He must to get the job done. That includes speaking to someone who appears to be on the outside.

All of us feel like outsiders at one point or another. But for God there is no such thing. God has many “human” attributes such as loving, kind, tenderhearted, jealous, or angry. But we can never say that He is bigoted. He loves no one out – ever. Cornelius is no one special. He’s just a guy doing his job and raising his family. But he is seen by God as important and worthy of a vision because it suits His purposes. Peter is sent for and will meet up with Cornelius and his friends. This will be a turning point both for Cornelius and Peter. God’s economy at work again.

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