Consider Breaking a Rule
Excerpt from Acts 10: 9-23a
"He heard a voice saying, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.' But Peter said, 'By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.' The voice said to him again, a second time, 'What God has made clean, you must not call profane.' This happened three times . . . Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen . . . While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Look, three men are searching for you. Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation, for I have sent them.'"
Reflection by Christina Villa
Peter is hungry and has a vision in which God tells him what to do: "Get up, Peter; kill and eat." Wait a minute, Peter says, I'm not going to just kill any old thing and eat it! There are rules against that, and even having God tell him it's OK—not once, not twice, but three times—isn't enough for Peter. He's still greatly puzzled. What could it mean? What should he do? He’s still sitting there thinking about it when the Spirit, sounding exasperated, taps him on the shoulder: "Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation."
Sometimes we get so used to following "rules" that our obedience to them gets in the way of our obedience to God. Sometimes rules protect us from challenge or risk. In the process of staying safe, and perhaps congratulating ourselves for being good rule-followers, we never do anything that might be considered divinely inspired—or even very important to us.
What rules are you busy following while the Spirit is repeatedly trying to make you get up and do something else, something you were meant to do, something God has in mind for you?
Prayer
Thank you for never giving up on trying to get my attention. Amen.
Excerpt from Acts 10: 9-23a
"He heard a voice saying, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.' But Peter said, 'By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.' The voice said to him again, a second time, 'What God has made clean, you must not call profane.' This happened three times . . . Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen . . . While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Look, three men are searching for you. Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation, for I have sent them.'"
Reflection by Christina Villa
Peter is hungry and has a vision in which God tells him what to do: "Get up, Peter; kill and eat." Wait a minute, Peter says, I'm not going to just kill any old thing and eat it! There are rules against that, and even having God tell him it's OK—not once, not twice, but three times—isn't enough for Peter. He's still greatly puzzled. What could it mean? What should he do? He’s still sitting there thinking about it when the Spirit, sounding exasperated, taps him on the shoulder: "Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation."
Sometimes we get so used to following "rules" that our obedience to them gets in the way of our obedience to God. Sometimes rules protect us from challenge or risk. In the process of staying safe, and perhaps congratulating ourselves for being good rule-followers, we never do anything that might be considered divinely inspired—or even very important to us.
What rules are you busy following while the Spirit is repeatedly trying to make you get up and do something else, something you were meant to do, something God has in mind for you?
Prayer
Thank you for never giving up on trying to get my attention. Amen.
|
