“He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.”
Acts 10: 3-4 (NIV)
This scripture passage is lengthy but necessary in order to understand that Cornelius, though a gentile, was not like the typical Roman citizen of his day.
He was a centurion who was part of an auxiliary group of archers of the Roman army, called the Italica. Being successful and wealthy, he had many servants and soldiers serving under him. Although raised in the polytheistic faith of Rome, to believe and worship multiple gods, something changed Cornelius.
He began to seek the one true God, possibly after hearing the disciples preaching about Jesus, the Messiah, crucified, but risen from the dead. Cornelius is described as an upright God fearing man. He influenced everyone in his immediate circle to believe in God as well, even though he knew very little about Jesus. God’s heart was moved by Cornelius and He sent an angel to him to commend him for his prayers and giving. Then the angel told him to send for Peter, who could tell him all he needed to know about Jesus.
Cornelius shows us that any man or woman can move the heart of God, even without knowing all the facts of the faith. Since Cornelius hadn’t yet grasped the full gospel message or every detail about Jesus as a sacrificed Lamb, Peter was sent to help give him clarity in his faith and to baptize him and his household. This was a great challenge for Peter, since he never before entered a gentile home, so he had to step outside of his comfort zone to obey God.
Cornelius and Peter both put their faith into action, in different ways, but both were pleasing to God. Cornelius did it by daily prayers and generous giving. Peter did it by opening his heart to go into the home of a gentile, which was a first for him.
Cornelius inspires us to seek to move Heaven through steadfast prayers and giving. We can also be inspired by Peter, to recognize who the “Cornelius” is, in our lives. It may be a person who is not from within our particular faith, or who is of a completely strange culture or ideology, which would require us to step outside of our comfort zone, as Peter did.
Reading about Cornelius and Peter, inspires me to put more faith and love into action, since we have such an awesome, beautiful God, who has put His love into the greatest action of all, by sending His only son to die and rise for us.
Lord, help us to put our faith into action, and to recognize the Cornelius in our lives, that we may do your will, whether inside or outside of our comfort zone. Amen
