The Lodestar

Read: Acts 10:1—48

This is another dramatic moment in the Book of Acts and Christian history, as God used the colonised to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the coloniser. An ordinary Jewish fisher took the gospel to a Roman centurion, his family, and friends.

God had commanded a devout Roman centurion (Cornelius) in a vision to invite Simon (Peter), who was staying in Joppa, to visit him. Peter arrives at this house accompanied by his friends to find a crowd of people that Cornelius had invited. When Peter preached the gospel, the Holy Spirit fell upon the people as a sign of divine approval, and they began to praise God in tongues. Thus, the gospel conquered the hearts of the colonisers who killed Jesus Christ.

For this dramatic development, Peter had to shed many of his prejudices. He had to realise that everyone, irrespective of gender, nationality, class, or caste, was entitled to God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Salvation through Jesus Christ is not the monopoly of his community. Though Jesus belonged to that community, Jesus died for the entire world.

God prepared Peter through a vision of the sheet filled with unclean animals. He was asked to eat meat that a Jew considered unclean because God had regarded as clean what Peter considered unclean.

The gospel of Jesus Christ has no borders. The angels proclaimed to the angel that the birth of Jesus was “good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). Paul was committed not to limit the gospel to the Jews but indebted to the entire humanity. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16).

The challenge is to see the world without borders, the humanity lost without Christ, and dare to share the gospel.

Today, let us ask God to open our eyes to the invisible walls we may have built — walls of prejudice, fear, or indifference. Pray for the courage to step beyond cultural, social, and personal barriers to share the good news with those who may seem unlikely, unfamiliar, or unworthy in our eyes. Remember, the same Spirit who fell on Cornelius’ house moves still, eager to claim hearts we’ve yet to reach. Will you be a willing voice, a faithful messenger, and a bearer of grace without borders?