Contemplative Bible Reading

Acts 10:2 (New Living Translation)

He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.

Read that description of a man. Read it several times. How would you describe that man? What comes to my mind is:

He was a good man.

He gave generously to the poor. He prayed to God regularly. Yes, a good man. That is my description.

What was he doing in Acts chapter 10? He was seeking the Messiah, the Christ, the one anointed to take away the sins of the world. All this “good man” stuff was and still is insufficient.

Consider the rest of the chapter. This man – a Roman officer – sent for Peter to learn of the Christ. He accepted Peter’s teaching and became a follower of Jesus of Nazareth – the son of God.