Have you ever had one of those moments where you find out something you held as fact was actually not true at all? For example, many of us grew up believing that goldfish only have a three-second memory. Even the popular show Ted Lasso perpetuates this belief. However, according to this article from Reader’s Digest, Goldfish actually have a memory span of closer to three months. Sorry coach Lasso looks like the boys will have to hang on to those painful losses a little longer.

It can be hard to let go of those beliefs, even when confronted with the truth. The apostle Peter had one such experience in the book of Acts where he was challenged to change his views. Acts 10 and 11 show Peter having a vision in which God shows him that no longer are the ceremonially unclean things unclean. Peter is so set in the ways of the past that God has to show him this vision three times before he finally gets it.

Meanwhile a gentile named Cornelius, someone who would have previously been ceremonially unclean, has a vision in which the Lord directs him to send for Peter. Because of the vision, Peter goes to his home, preaches the Gospel, and Cornelius’s entire family enter into a saving relationship with Jesus. It’s an amazing story that shows us God’s perfect timing, his love for all people, and the lengths to which he is willing to go so that His love can be made known.

In all of this, Peter could have been the roadblock. What if he refused to change his beliefs? What if he wrote off this vision as a result of his hunger? What if he was afraid to reach out to his gentile neighbor because of what others may have thought?

This was a defining moment in the history of the church. This is the moment in which God proved to Peter and by extension many of the Jewish apostles and believers that His love was breaking out into all of the world, not just the nation of Israel. God was going global and wanted Peter to take the first steps. Thankfully, Peter was obedient. Because of that obedience, I, a gentile, have access to God.

The Gospel calls us to build bridges, not walls. God calls us to love our neighbors and show them who He is. What is standing in your way? Don’t be the roadblock that slows a major move of God. Seek Him and His truth, The Truth, and share that truth with everyone you meet!