don't put God in a box

Today in the One Year Bible, we read from Acts 10:1-23. It's a pretty cool story. This Roman military officer named Cornelius was a good man. He loved God and he helped the poor, even though he wasn't a Christian. He went to meet with Peter, who probably wouldn't have given him a big welcome, except that God was ready.

God had given Peter a vision, in which He showed him lots of different foods that were forbidden for Peter to eat. He told Peter to eat them, and Peter refused. Then God taught Peter an important lesson: Don't call something unclean if God calls it clean. Right about then Cornelius shows up, and Peter puts 2 and 2 together, and welcomes Cornelius into the church.

That's a danger for us, too. It's easy for us to grow accustomed to the way God has done things in the past, and think that He can't do new things in the future. That doesn't mean He's going to violate His previous commands - but it might mean that we should be open to a new way that He wants to love people. As long as we keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to love God and love other people, it helps us put everything else in perspective.

God, thanks for teaching us not to put You in a box.