A Memorial Before God
Acts 10:1-4 In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.” He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” He answered, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.” (NRSV)
It’s sad that nations have to raise up and maintain military forces to protect themselves, but they do. And the inevitable result of sending men and women into battle … is casualties; deaths and injuries, both physical and emotional.
Pretty much every country around the globe sets aside a day to remember those sacrifices. Today is Memorial Day in the US, where the people of America do precisely that.
A memorial is a monument or something else – like a day, today for Americans – for remembering sacrifices. It’s something we all focus on for a time, amidst the busyness of life … simply to remember. Which is what makes this passage of scripture so interesting:
Acts 10:1-4 In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.” He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” He answered, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.” (NRSV)
Cornelius was a godly man, a good man, whose sacrifices – his prayer and what he gave to the poor – had risen up as a memorial before God.
A memorial! Something that God noticed. Something that God remembered and focussed on, amidst all He had to do.
Sometimes, as we make sacrifices in serving God and others, it feels as though no one’s noticed, no one understands the cost and the pain. But nothing … nothing … could be further from the truth because …
Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.
That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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