Fat Monk


4 Aug 2024

New instruction

“He saw heaven opened and something coming down that looked like a large sheet being lowered by its four corners to the earth. In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and wild birds. A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat!”

But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord! I have never eaten anything ritually unclean or defiled.”

The voice spoke to him again, “Do not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean.” This happened three times, and then the thing was taken back up into heaven.”

(Acts 10.11-16 GNB)

God’s rules for clean and unclean food were very clear for Jewish people. These rules were handed down from Moses’ time. They also defined many aspects of the Jewish people of the time.

And yet in a vision from the Lord, Peter received new instruction to eat those animals.

It might have helped that Jesus mentioned it before. “Listen and understand! It is not what goes into a person's mouth that makes him ritually unclean; rather, what comes out of it makes him unclean.” (Matthew 15.10-11 GNB)

Still, in the vision, the Lord had to tell it to Peter three times.

It is easier to stick to what is written, or to tradition, than to discern and validate a new instruction. And it feels safer too.

Lord,
please help me be sensitive to your instructions
and to validate that it is indeed from you
and to be able to follow it according to your purpose