Impure In Breeding

We get straight into the breeding of these men. Yes, we are still with the men referred to in our text. They are all Gentiles.

Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. Acts 11: 11

Because these men were not born Jews, they could not be raised or brought up as Jews. Their entire thinking would have been different. Their morals, ideals and such, also would be different and understandably so. By their very look, their physical appearance, one could tell the difference.

This may sound very funny to you, but it is O so true. On our streets, you can tell the difference in the breeding of a dog, by just looking at it. I don’t know how it is in other parts of the world, but this is true of those of us who live in the Caribbean. We see dogs roaming the streets all the time, a common sight. Then one day you see a dog, yes a dog and you say, “Somebody’s dog has got away,” or something to that effect. What we are really saying is that the dog is different from the other dogs on the street. We come to this conclusion because, by its appearance, it is not a street dog, not a mutt, not a stray, not a dog without birth. I know that I, for one, say these things, especially when I see how well-groomed that dog is, and the collar that it is wearing around the neck. Hey, a dog is a dog, all alike, walking on all four paws, barking and all that, but I tell you, you can see the difference in breeding, even when that dog is filthy and dirty.

The same is true of those whose breeding is different, for their appearance gives them away. This appearance can manifest itself in many different ways. It may be the language of the person, the uncaring attitude of that one, and much more.

Recently, I was sent a positive, actions-video about a relatively young woman and her most wonderful story. She was from a very poor country and an even poorer home, when a Good Samaritan rescued her family and other people in one of the poorest villages and gave them all the opportunity to live a better life. So touched and thankful was this woman that she gave her unshared and undivided life to the cause of helping other extremely poor families, where children would not have a chance to live, due to hunger, malnourishment and disease. The video was an interview about her life and in speaking, she spoke about how she gets money to help the needy, since she is not rich by any means. Like many, I am sure, I was totally mesmerized and awestruck by the kind-heartedness and unbelievable lengths at which one person would go to show her gratitude for being given a chance at life. The video also featured a few people whom she had helped and still helps and how they spoke of her in brightly, glowing colours, calling her mother. I was fixed to the screen and at the end, before I could say a thing to our Lord, I heard myself uttering these words. She is not a believer. It only then dawned upon me, when I was removed from sheer emotionalism and human kindness that not a word was mentioned about God, the One True God. It was all human prowess, determination and resolve to do what one has set out to do. This is not strange or uncommon, for many people achieve great feats, daring deeds and more, through the power of the mind, meditation and stubborn resolve. We know this to be the case for even God said this about the power of humans when they were building the Tower of Babel. The LORD said, If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Genesis 11: 6.

I immediately saw different breeding in the fact that this woman showed no signs, in speech or actions, as giving our Lord and Saviour, credit for all that she was able to do and is still doing. There was nothing about being enabled by God the Holy Spirit. Here was someone of different breeding.

Still, the question is of the Spirit and not of the flesh. For any Jew to have such a close relationship with a Gentile is to be asking for ostracism. No Jew, not even the worst ones, the scum of their people, would have such deep contact with even the highest of Gentiles, so totally no! no! it was. This had to be a most revealing moment for Peter, as these people of wrong breeding, come for him, as though they were extremely close friends.

What are we hearing from Peter? He is telling us also, that to mix the earthly with the heavenly, the carnal with the Spiritual is NOT the Lord’s way. Spirit is Spirit and Flesh is Flesh.

Right then, three men of wrong breeding came to Peter. He did not call these men impure, for he knew that God Himself had made them clean.