When Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticised him. “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said.
Thursday 27 June 2024.
Acts 11:2-3
Criticism always stings. It must have been so hard for Peter to face a barrage of criticism when he returned to Jerusalem. God had given him a vision and opened his eyes to a new world in which God was wanting to welcome everyone to himself. This turned Peter’s previous thinking on its head and this discovery clearly excited him. How discouraging it must have been to face up to his critics. But we can learn a lot from the way that he did so.
He would have fully understood where his critics were coming from because, before his recent revelation, he would have thought exactly the same way. So, he patiently went through his testimony. He told them about the remarkable vision and the way in which the Gentile visitors from Caesarea had come and received the gift of salvation. Peter’s hearers in Jerusalem were silenced by his story and offered no further objections. Instead, they praised God and acknowledged that he was now willing to accept even the Gentiles (see vv4-18).
It’s never pleasant being criticised but the best response is to do exactly what Peter did. He gave a calm and thoughtful account of his experiences, explaining how he had come to his conclusion. It is always a bad response to be defensive and, worst of all, to be rude. When you share your story, your hearers won’t necessarily be persuaded, but if you have shared it carefully and calmly it will give a basis for further conversation. We all need to pray for the wisdom, strength and grace to handle criticism. In that way God is honoured and people are built up.
QUESTION
What have you learned from this story about the way in which you could handle criticism in the future?
PRAYER
Lord help me to learn from Paul’s example. Please give me your wisdom so that I may always respond to criticism with love, thoughtfulness and grace. Amen
When I was reading this e-mail this morning it reminded me of something I had read about Peters vision he had but I couldn't think were I had read it.
It's from a e-mail I got from Premier on Tuesday 25 June 2024
Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favouritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
Acts 10:34-36
This might not sound revolutionary to us today, but it is important to understand that Peter’s world had just been turned upside down. He had been brought up with the Old Testament idea that it was only the people of Israel whom God had chosen to be a special people. The Jews had been given very clear rules about what they should and shouldn’t eat. However, Peter had just had a vision in which he had been told to do the unthinkable. He had seen a large sheet containing all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles and birds, and he was told he could eat any of them. His response was exactly the right one for any Jew. He said no. But then the voice said to him, “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean” (v15). This happened three times before the penny dropped. God was telling him that the good news of Jesus was no longer limited to the Jews. The doors had been flung open to the world.
The Church must always have its doors open to everyone. The moment we limit access to Jesus to a narrow group of people we have fundamentally missed the point.
Jim was a road sweeper who attended the church that I went to as a child. He was very different from anyone else who came to that church. He didn’t know the rules and would often come in halfway through the service and bang his glass milk bottle down on the hard wooden pew. He was poor, and his command of English was not great, but he was made completely welcome. Many people went out of their way to include him. The church was where he belonged. I’m grateful for that picture of welcome indelibly imprinted on my mind.
QUESTION
Is your church welcoming to every kind of person? If not, what could you do to make it so?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank you that your arms are open to everyone. Help me reflect your love to those I meet day by day.
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