‘iedereen—Anyone & Everyone!
“And he said to them,
(The Acts of the Apostles 10: 28 NASB)
“You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him;
and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.”
It is quite encouraging that ALL MANKIND is invited to come to God through faith in His Son Jesus & through belief in what Christ did upon the cross of Calvary and in the tomb when He was raised back to new life.
Anyone & Everyone! In the Dutch language, the word is the same: ‘iedereen.’
Inclusive & Open to every man, woman, boy & girl.
‘iedereen kan tot geloof in Jezus komen’—
Anyone can come to faith in Jesus!
When Simon Peter was approached and beckoned to come to the man Cornelius’ home, the next day, Peter got up and traveled from Joppa to Caesarea. It took a full day of traveling to arrive, but by the next day, he walked into the city, and when he did, Cornelius was there waiting, along with “his relatives and close friends.” (verse 24b)
It is so wonderful how God directs our steps into the paths of others!
Just this week, I found myself leaving class, exiting the Educational Building through the back door, stepping into a winding pathway filled with high tables where people could sit and chat. I walked past the tables, following the sidewalk, stepping across the side street, where I noticed a lady driving a golf-cart toward me. Lori shouted out a greeting as she stopped her golf cart near me, as I stood there in the parking lot, halfway between the classroom I had just left and the Astronomy lab where my office desk waits. (I like to tell everyone how I get to hang out with the stars while I work.)
We exchanged pleasantries, and then Lori said, “Nancy, I have been meaning to come find you. I think it’s a God-thing that we crossed paths today.”
If you know me at all, then you know how I do not believe in coincidence, in happenstance, but only in providence, so without hesitation, I found myself nodding my head in agreement with Lori’s statement.
Why does God allow us to encounter His will, even during the midst of our normal days?
As the Dutch language would state—
It is because ‘iedereen kan tot geloof in Jezus komen’
Anyone can come to faith in Jesus!
Simon Peter believed this so!
That’s why he did not hesitate that day when approached to travel to another city and to meet with a stranger, to meet with Cornelius, a man he did not know.
“As he talked with him,
(The Acts of the Apostles 10: 27-29 NASB)
[Peter & Cornelius]
he entered and found many people assembled.
[When Peter walked into Cornelius’ house,
he saw people gathered, waiting for him.]
“And he said to them,
“You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew
to associate with a foreigner or to visit him;
and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.
That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for.
So I ask for what reason you have sent for me.”
As Lori and I spoke this week (she was sitting on her golf cart & I was standing beside her, as my backpack rested on my back). I listened as she began to speak of a Women’s Ministry she was organizing under the direction of the Campus Minister.
- I was intrigued.
- I was amazed at the way God works.
- I was interested.
- I was overwhelmed by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
Does God open doors and shut others?
Does God shut doors and open windows of opportunity?
Does God show us the way we are to go?
YES! YES! YES—HE DOES!
As we label people in the world, we ostracize ourselves from them. We may call people this or that, creating a separation, a barrier, a designation, an ethnicity, a whatever—However, truly, God only sees the world in two categories.
- Those who have been chosen from birth & who—HAVE FAITHFULLY RECEIVED—His Only Begotten Son JESUS as their Savior. &
- Those who have been chosen from birth & who—HAVE CONTINUALLY REJECTED—His Only Begotten Son JESUS as their Savior.
The Lost & The Redeemed. Two Distinct & Very Exclusive Categories of People. Despite a person’s race, sex, ethnic background, social class, or religion—
‘iedereen kan tot geloof in Jezus komen’
Anyone can come to faith in Jesus!
In Caesarea that long-ago day, while standing in Cornelius’ home, Simon Peter learned the reason why he was beckoned to come.
“Cornelius said,
(The Acts of the Apostles 10: 30-36 NASB)
“Four days ago to this hour,
I was praying in my house during the ninth hour;
and behold, a man stood before me in shining garments,
and he said,
‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.
Therefore send to Joppa and invite Simon,
who is also called Peter,
to come to you;
he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’
“So I sent for you immediately,
and you have been kind enough to come.
Now then,
we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
Opening his mouth, Peter said:
“I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,
but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.
The word which He sent to the sons of Israel,
preaching peace through Jesus Christ
(He is Lord of all)—”