Getting It!
Posted by David on November 15, 2009 under Bulletin Articles
The above scriptural quotation contains the words of the Apostle Peter in Acts 10 as he spoke to Cornelius. Before this, Peter had three visions about the visit, a message from the Spirit, and a confirmation that Cornelius was a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the Jews. With all of this verification, Peter did not Get It.
It was not until after Peter arrived at Cornelius’ home, spoke to Cornelius, and saw the group Cornelius had assembled to hear Peter that Peter finally Got It. In verse 36 Peter said, “I most certainly understand …” Here was an Apostle who found it very difficult to Get It because God acted in a manner that was beyond his comprehension (and the comprehension of most other Jewish Christians and Jewish non-Christians). Before this incident he knew that God was interested only in Jews and proselytes (gentile converts to Judaism). Had the suggestion been made prior to this incident that God was interested in a gentile who was not a proselyte, Peter would have said, “No way! God just does not function like that!”
Wonder if it will take until Judgment for many Christians to Get It. Wonder if we, like Peter, fail to grasp something obviously of concern to God because our view of God excludes him doing “something like that.”
The bad news: Getting It quite often is not at all simple! Why? Too often, like Peter, we are conditioned by past views not to “Get It.” Quite often we do not Get It because we never thought about God as we focused on His word.
The good news: The fundamental of Getting It means God loves you-no matter who you are, no matter what you have done, and no matter where you came from. God loves you because you are you! All you need to do to return God’s love is to live in Christ. Get It?