Acts 10:1-8; Good People

I used to see people as in or out. They were part of the kingdom or not. They were Christians or not. Basically in my mind that meant good or bad. This is one of those stories that calls into question simplistic dichotomy.

Does God hear the prayers of "unchristians"? Obviously Cornelius was not a Christian (that comes later in the story) but he was clearly heard by God. He was a good man, good enough that an angel was sent to him and told him that the Father Creator was very aware of him. I have never had that experience nor know anyone who has. So much for "good" being equated with "Christian". And so much for "good" being equated with "saved".

My understanding from this part of the story is that God loves his creation -- each and every one of us. When one of us wants to get closer to him, he finds ways to make that happen. Jesus was not God's only intervention in this world; over and over throughout history he has maneuvered and manipulated people and events so that those who seek him can find him. Jonah knew this when he went to Nineveh. He wanted bad people to be destroyed but God wanted good people to have a chance at a relationship with him.

When we paint the world simplistically as good and bad, where good is defined as "you believe like me" and bad people who don't look like me are "out", then we quit looking at the world like God does and we stop treating it like Jesus did. We can't see him maneuvering for the benefit of those who seek him. We become Jonah-like wanting to condemn people who are bad, thus proving ourselves right and others wrong, rather than serve others because they are beloved children of the Creator. It is easy for us to accept God's love but so hard to remember that we are loved not because of what we do, think or believe but rather because of who he is. We, just like everyone else that has ever lived, are loved because a loving God made us. Thus my role in this drama is to be willing to leave Jerusalem in order to be used by the Creator as he maneuvers and manipulates the lives of those who seek him.

Romans 3:9-20; Not-good-enough

It sounds so harsh, this section which concludes that we are all under sin. We are all lumped together as losers, failures and not-good-enough. As I read through I asked myself, "Are we really that bad?"

Then it hit me. I am exactly the kind of person this was written for. When I start to view my self as "almost-good-enough" rather than "not-good-enough", I start to move away from God and focus upon myself. When I think that I have it all together spiritually, then I am not together with God.

I am exactly the person this was written to. A person who prefers to think that most of the time I can handle life and even excel. Yet, all it really takes is one crisis or sometimes just a bump in the road to reveal that this is not true.

Hence my need to look at a standard, i.e., the revealed will of God. And at the same time a clear explanation of why I, like so many others, often avoid looking at a standard at all.