Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. Acts 10:20
Many families these days have adopted a password program with their children. If anyone tells the children that their parents have sent for them, the children are to ask for a password. Unless the correct password is given, the children are to refuse to go. Stories are told of children who have saved themselves from abduction or worse by demanding a password and refusing to go when the correct one is not given. In our text today, Peter is given clearance from God to go with men on what would ordinarily have been a prohibited mission. Like Peter, we have also been given a mission that would normally have been beyond our capabilities and our right.
Peter is about to embark on a most remarkable adventure. Until this point, only Jews and Samaritans have been given the Gospel, so until this point, only Jews and Samaritans have been saved. That is about to change. The vast door of opportunity for the Gentiles to receive the Gospel is about to swing wide open. And Peter, who has been firmly opposed to any interactions with any Gentiles to avoid contaminating himself with outsiders according to the law, is the one to open that door and to introduce salvation to the Gentiles. How thrilled he must have been afterwards as he contemplated this great moment! How thankful he must have been that God had persuaded him to accept this new challenge! At God’s command, he moved. But Peter is not the only one to be introduced to new challenges and to open new doors. God also calls on you and me to serve Him in various ways. When we have His approval, we can confidently move forward, just as a child who hears the correct password.
How do we know when God gives His command and His approval to move forward? The answer to that lies in two parts. For the first part, there are some things that we always have God’s approval for. Honesty and kindness and fairness are always the right things to do. So are witnessing for our faith when opportunities come, speaking a word for our Lord, and of course prayer, Bible reading, and fellowship with the Lord’s people. For the second part, we must be open to the Lord’s leading. And the Lord can lead us only if we are following Him, if we are in touch with Him, if we are meditating on His Word, if we are always conscious of what He would have us to do in every situation. If we know what His Word says, we will never go against it. If we desire that the Holy Spirit guide us, He will never lead us wrong.
Peter was confident that he was being sent in the right direction. God told Him so. He will also tell us so, if we let Him. -Jim MacIntosh