will take of mine and will

Imagine the original church acting just like modern American churches. Peter heads back to Jerusalem in Acts11, and gossip and backbiting precede his return. The church has heard of his preaching to gentiles, and the Jews are offended. Only a modern church would have expelled Paul; the original church hears him out. After a lengthy explanation of his vision and the "coincidental" arrival of Cornelius's men, Acts11:18 states that "When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, 'Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.'"

The reaction in v18 can be read as spoken in a spirit of resignation. And the v's that follow back that up. The defiant Jews preach only to Jews in v19, while the ones resigned to (or excited by) the fact that Gentiles were being offered salvation as well preach to the non-Jews in v20. So no doubt that some racism played into the feelings of some people over this new development.

But what if it wasn't only racism? What if some of the issue was in the very human instinct to hoard what we deem precious? We save money; we fill garages to the brim; we have refrigerators with more tupperware saving leftovers than necessary (or healthy); we have contact lists on our cellphones and email address books of everybody we've ever remotely met. There is a human need to save.

And imagine this most special gift of all? Imagine communicating with God Himself. Imagine being His chosen ones. Imagine feeling completely different, completely unique from those around you. Imagine feeling like you've joined some super secret squad. And imagine that exclusivity open to the whole world. Racist? Likely. Jealous? Absolutely? A little sad? Yeah, probably.