Acts 15:10 NCV
“So now why are you testing God by putting a heavy load around the necks of the non-Jewish believers? It is a load that neither we nor our ancestors were able to carry.”
It takes humility and patience to see some things from the viewpoint of others, especially if we have thought of ourselves more highly than we ought to regarding our own opinions. Indeed, there is always something to learn beyond what we already know, of which others can be the channel through which we learn. That applies to both physical and spiritual matters. As such, keeping an open mind before God and regularly examining our own views is a commendable thing to do. Before using or doing things for His people in significant ways, God almost always addressed their existing beliefs and attitudes, i.e., how they saw themselves or things, as seen throughout the Scriptures.
The foregoing implies that our perspective has a significant bearing on our progress. Put differently, until we gain the right perspective on a matter as God would have us to, our progress and impact thereof may remain limited. It is also important to remember that God’s ways of seeing things are always higher than our ways, and His thoughts are always finer than our thoughts. Thus, letting the LORD have His way, even if it goes against our personal belief systems, is much safer than being wise in our own eyes and taking matters into our own hands. The Apostle Peter testifies to that. Perhaps one of Peter’s most significant turning points came through the assignment God sent him to accomplish in a Gentile’s house (Act 10).
More than that, the fact that the Holy Spirit came upon physically uncircumcised (Gentile) believers in Cornelius’ house was simply inconceivable to the Orthodox Jewish mind at the time. Oh, how ‘possible’ could that be? Well, God’s ways are higher than ours (Isa 55:9). Having received a renewed mind, Peter would be used of God to caution his brethren from putting a “heavy load [of Moses’ custom] around the necks of the non-Jewish believers”, as in our text. In God’s divine plan, “…He made us accepted in the Beloved [Jesus Christ]” (Eph 1:6 NKJV). If He accepted (even) us in Christ, then we should remain humble and patient as we see Him do things in and through others.
Pst. Emmanuel