Today's Devotional

October 21, 2004

Subject:  Introducing Cornelius

Acts 10:2 - "A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway."

I don't go to see many movies and I don't watch that many on TV either, but every now and then I'll decide that I want to see one and I'll look up the movie on the internet and see what it's about and read the character reviews.  They'll often talk about the main characters and describe them in vivid fashion so that you know what the person is about.  If life was a movie, how would the reviews talk about your character?   

That's how the bible introduces the character, Cornelius.  It's amazing how many good things you can say about a person in a few words.  The story that is about to unfold when he is introduced, is the backdrop for how God uses all people to accomplish His plan.  So the first thing God lets you know is that Cornelius was a worshipper of Him, but in such a few words it doesn't only say that he was a worshipper of God, but also that he helped people, was the spiritual leader in his home and had an outstanding prayer life.  Wow, that's a lot to get out of a sentence less than 25 words, but it was pretty easy to identify the character in this story.  

When you are introduced, what do people identify you with?  Is it your job, your car, your family?  Think about how you are known.  Your life, the movie, is opening soon.  Your character is being developed and the reviews are being written. 

 Carlen