By Jeff Cranston

We’re all prone toward prejudice in some form or another. We are all born into cultural insulation. Apart from interaction outside “our group,” we grow up assuming our view accurately defines reality. That creates barriers and even hatred with those who are different from ourselves, which prevents us from carrying out the call of God on our lives to go and make disciples of all people.

The Bible teaches us much about all of this through a true story we find in Acts 10. In this passage, we learn that as the gospel spread and the early church continued to grow, new questions arose about the inclusion of Gentiles into the Christian faith. Gentiles were attempting to understand where they fit in, and Jews were trying to determine how and if they should mingle with non-Jews. The Jews had adhered to lifelong dietary laws that prevented them from socializing with Gentiles.

Peter experienced a vision from God that communicated it was now permissible to kill and eat unclean animals (Acts 10:9-33). The vision didn’t make sense to Peter, since it would have violated dietary food laws. But God was communicating to Peter that He was overturning these restrictions and Gentiles could be embraced in Christian community. Peter was tasked with the responsibility of sharing the good news with both Jews and Gentiles.

So, what can we take away from this true story and apply to our lives?

1. When we prejudicially assume God is not working in certain places and among certain people, we are most often wrong.

We all tend to group people by race, place of origin or profession, and then we pigeonhole individuals and judge them because they belong to a certain group. If we do not face our prejudices and allow God to root them out, we will not be effective in reaching across cultural and personal barriers with the gospel.

Putting it into practice: Assume God is speaking to everyone, everywhere, and wants to use you.

2. Walls of prejudice often come down a brick or two at a time.

Isn’t it just like God, that when He is pleased to open the gospel to the Gentiles, He picks Cornelius, a Gentile who represents something that every loyal Jew hated—a military commander from the occupying Roman forces (Acts:1-8)?! Peter had to break out of his comfort zone in order to obey God. And Cornelius would have had to overcome any prejudice that he may have had against contacting an uneducated Jew to explain spiritual truth to him.

Thankfully, the Lord often works gradually and gently with us in spite of our many shortcomings and sins. He teaches us by putting us in uncomfortable situations, where we have to challenge our blind assumptions and grow to be more like Jesus, who was the friend of sinners that others were prejudiced against.

Putting it into practice: Take small steps to connect with someone much different than yourself.

3. The good news of the gospel is for all people, of all backgrounds, in all places.

We know that around God’s throne in heaven there will be some from every tribe and tongue and people and nation that the Savior purchased with His blood (Revelation 5:9). If we do not have a heart to reach out with the gospel across cultural, racial and national barriers, we do not have the heart of the Lord Jesus.

Putting it into practice: Share the difference Jesus has made in your life with someone this week.

Here’s a radical prayer request: Ask God to show you your prejudices. When He does, obey Him by putting your prejudices to death and by showing His love and offering His gospel to those whom you might not naturally be inclined to like. He will use it to exalt His name among the nations!

Jeff Cranston is lead pastor of LowCountry Community Church in Bluffton, S.C.