Cornelius – Gospel gateway to Gentiles
Acts : 10
❇️ The angel answered,”Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God ” (v4)
❇️ Amazing testimony from God about Cornelius, a gentile centurion by profession but a devout and a kind hearted man. He was a commanding officer with authority yet God-fearing and praying regularly which made him to be hand picked by God to be an early Church father among the gentiles.
❇️ He was not only a prayerful, God fearing commanding officer but also charitable towards poor and needy. Further we see him as a humble person by his action of falling in reverence at the feet of Peter, a Jewish church leader and a former fisherman.
❇️ For an Army officer to be humble, kind, charitable, prayerful and God- fearing is difficult since all these qualities do not gel well with military authority.Yet Cornelius was a rare breed of an authority with Christlikeness.
❇️ God used Cornelius to show case the cause of gentiles to Peter that Kingdom of God belongs to them too not just for the jews only.
❇️ Though God doesn’t call the qualified but qualified the called always Cornelius is one of the very few who qualified by his devotion, charity and humility and positioned himself for God’s calling in pleasing God by combining faith and works which is a rarity.
❇️ Let us juxtapose ourselves against Cornelius and see how different are we. When we are vested with power and authority are we able to exhibit humility, charity and devotion towards people and God? In the Kingdom of God power & authority are given to serve and to build people and not to flaunt our position.
✅ Insights learnt:
▪️Kingdom of God is inclusive
▪️Faith and works in our life
position us for God’s greater
calling
Dr.E.Christadoss
Vellore 🙏🏽