Saying the gospel of Jesus Christ is important is an understatement. Often, it can become so common among believers that we forget about it’s life-changing power. In the book of Acts, we hear about a centurion named Cornelius. He is described in Acts 10:1-2 as:
- A devout man
- Feared God with all his household
- Gave generously to people
- Prayed to God always
If he possessed all of those characteristics, then why did God speak to him through a dream along with meeting the disciple Peter in a dream as well, just to get Peter to physically travel to Cornelius to share the gospel? From the outside, he was doing all of the right things. Honestly, he was doing all he knew to do. How many people do we know in our lives who fit this description?
Sharing the gospel message of Jesus was imperative to Cornelius’ life, the lives of those in his household along with the other relatives and close friends he called together to meet Peter. Cornelius was so off-base, he fell down at Peter’s feet to worship him when he entered the house. Peter quickly redirected Cornelius that he in fact was just another man as he was. (Read the full passage in Acts 10:1-48)
God has the ability to reach anyone by any means, but so often chooses to use us, His followers, to carry His message. Are you listening to His voice? Are you obeying to go and tell when He calls? There just may be someone trying all of the right things but still doesn’t know the life-saving knowledge of Jesus and has yet to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives.