A memorial before God

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?”
So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.- Acts 10.1-4

Every so often we come across an unusual character that catches us off guard. Cornelius was one of those people for me. Cornelius was a Roman military officer station in Judea, which was not a coveted assignment. He was a member of the Italian Regiment, an elite military force from Rome itself.

Cornelius had found something in Caesarea that intrigued him. Something was different here.  I don’t know what it was, but something was drawing him to God. He was a devout religious man, he feared God, he was always about doing charitable works, and he ‘prayed always.’

Notice that though this came up ‘as a memorial to God’ that was still not enough. All that good stuff was still not enough to get him to heaven. But it did, and I am sure this is not the perfect way to put it, it did get God’s attention.

The Bible says that though who seek God will find him. Cornelius is evidence that when someone is earnestly seeking God will send the answer in the form of the glorious gospel.

Looking for God and doing good and being religious and praying is still not good enough on its own. But we are promised that those who seek God will find Him. God sent Peter and Peter went to carry the gospel to Cornelius and his household.

How may Corneliuses are there out there earnestly seeking God today? Could we be the Peters to carry God’s word to them. Could we be the ones to show them the way?