Good morning, everyone.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 10:16, “This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.”
Of the three R’s, writing was always my least favorite. Arithmetic came pretty naturally for me, and there were always some good sports books or Edith Hamilton’s book of mythology to ease the pain of reading. But writing assignments were their own brand of torture. I wasn’t creative and simply did not possess the skill or the vocabulary to readily produce anything without suffering through the arduous task. Five paragraphs might as well have been five hundred. Writing about what I did the previous summer would consist of four sentences. But along the way, a few things did eventually stick with me, especially in the more rote areas of grammar and spelling. And one of those particulars was the vague reference pronoun. You’ll recognize this bane of composition most often in the form of a sentence beginning with “This,” but with no specific antecedent accompanying it. For example, a sheet descended with all sorts of animals in it. Peter was instructed by God to kill and eat from it, but he refused. God assured him a second time that it was alright. This happened three times. Now, what exactly happened three times? The entire scene, including the giant sheet descending from heaven? Just the part where God speaks to Peter about clean and unclean? Or maybe the back and forth between Peter and God?
The Holy Spirit seems to leave us with some uncertainty as to what completely happened. But is that a problem? Was God unclear as to what He wanted Peter to understand? Did Peter miss the point of clean versus unclean? Did he fail to take the lesson and apply it to the “unclean” Gentiles that were always intended to be grafted into the family of God? We’ve got some very clear instructions from God regarding what to do and not to do. It is only our sinful self that blurs these lines and finds loopholes and exceptions. Glorifying God and dying to self doesn’t require a dissertation to direct us on the what’s and how’s. Patience and gentleness are not vague or archaic. Kindness and encouragement are not just for picture books. This we all know.
As we seek Him today, let Christ be your non-vague reference as you do this or talk about that.
Have a delightful Tuesday.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
