May 18 - Acts 11: How Could I Object?

So I ask you: If God gave the same exact gift to them as to us when we believed in the Master Jesus Christ, how could I object to God? (11:17)

Peter's friends and other leaders back in Jerusalem didn't like what they were hearing - the outsiders were in?!? How could that be??

What is it about human nature that makes me resent that others get what I get? Why do I act like it's a zero-sum game, thinking that it somehow diminishes what I have, whether it's praise or money or eternal life? And how is it that I think I can accurately determine who "deserves" salvation? Jeffrey Dahmer?? No way! The Son of Sam serial killer? Are you kidding?! It's unthinkable that these bad people could receive God's grace, right?

Peter must have recalled the parables that Jesus told during His ministry on earth that addressed this very situation. Remember the story of the laborers in the vineyard in Matthew 20?

[Jesus] replied to the one speaking for the rest, "Friend I haven't been unfair...I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can't I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?" (20:13-15)

Or the reaction of the elder brother, who felt he deserved more than his brother, in the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15?

"The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. The son said, "Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends?" (15:28-30)  

By the power of the Spirit at work in him, likely bringing these teachings to mind, Peter knew how Jesus wanted him to respond. As he told his friends in Jerusalem, salvation and the Holy Spirit are gifts from God. With that in mind, how could Peter object to God's way, God's timing of bringing the gospel to non-Jews??

Father, thank You for the reminder that Your ways are not my ways and my thoughts are not Your thoughts. I praise You as the generous giver of faith and eternal life. May I not object or be resentful or stingy with Your unfathomable generosity to all. I pray that I will only praise You as I hear of more and more people coming to faith in Jesus, not wondering if it somehow diminishes Your incredible gift of life to me.