We can treat God as common, as if it’s no big deal to talk to Him or be in His presence.

God is holy. He dwells in unapproachable light. There are angelic beings who have spent eternity just crying out “Holy” before the Lord. He is like no other. There’s nothing common about Him. He is set apart. People feared seeing God because they knew they would die. They feared the Lord. He was other. Being in His presence meant falling on your face.

Peter had treated foods and people as common and as unclean. His vision wasn’t about Jewish food laws. God was talking to Him about people. God perfectly arranged the whole lesson.

God had prepared an Italian named Cornelius to bring in the first group of Gentiles. He was a man of prayer and good works. He didn’t earn his salvation, but he was after God’s heart. He did the things that pleased God. Prayer is relying on God, looking to Him for salvation in any situation. That’s humility. God draws near to the humble. Cornelius was generous. That’s selfless; that’s love.

He believed in God and showed it by his works. The angel says that his prayers had been heard. I don’t know what prayer he had prayed. My guess was that he was praying for salvation, that he had a view of being received or rejected by God and wanted God to accept him. God did.

Peter is perplexed by the vision he receives, but God knew how to get the message across and Peter immediately welcomes in the men and goes with them and shares the gospel without hesitation. God also has Peter prepared so that he immediately offers baptism. God moved and sent the Holy Spirit, and Peter went with what God was doing. He didn’t argue with God.

It was important for the Church that Peter be the one who first preached to the Gentiles and baptized them. He was God’s first appointed preacher in the church.

God had everyone in place and every heart prepared that would be taking part.