Our problem isn't that we think we are perfect, our problem is that we think we are better than they are. Whether it's the jerk in gym class, the girl in English or even the quirky guy that won't leave you alone, we play favorites. We naturally divide into those who are acceptable and those who didn't make the cut.
The Jews played the same game. They felt they held the reigns to the kingdom and everyone else was simply, second class. The early church was on it's way to reestabilishing the old tradition of being God's only chosen people when God decided to send the leader of the Jerusalem church through a little rehab.
God gave a vision to a Gentile, Roman, soldier, everything a Jew could dispise and yet it was Cornelius that God used to bridge the gap between the Jews and Gentiles. It was in this moment that Peter realized, God doesn't have favorites. Our heritage, our good deeds, our religiosity doesn't make us God's chosen servants. It's funny, scripture had been saying this for hundreds of years.
The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7
This morning at Awake we tried to stop looking at people for what they project on the outside and see the potential on the inside. Jesus died for sinners, not for the mostly good. He came to save the lost, not the mostly found. So next time you look at a person that rubs you the wrong way, remember that beneath the exterior is a soul that Jesus died to save.
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