I believe that this passage from Acts should be read and meditated on at least once a year. It would be fine if we, too, did not show favoritism!
The reality is quite different. Our society favors the wealthy, the beautiful, the famous and the powerful. It often victimizes the poor, the powerless and anyone who doesn't fit their idea of "acceptable."
We are told just about every day to avoid and fear anyone who is not like "us." The "us" can be anyone who has a different skin color, or speaks a different language, believes in a different religion, or comes from a different ethnic or cultural background.
Would we appreciate a field of flowers each one was exactly the same? I doubt it.
If all the flowers in the world were red, would we enjoy them as we do when we can mix in the yellow and the pink and all the rest?
No species of animal or vegetable is identical to all the members of that species. It is this variety that makes the world beautiful.
Why is it, then, that we expect all the members of the human family to look, speak and act the same?
If we remember the story of the Tower of Babel, it was God who decided that there would be differences in speech! In Genesis, we learn that God created each person in God's image, not the image of each other.
If fact, identical twins or triplets are considered an anomaly not the norm!
Who are we to challenge the will of God?
Help us to look at each person as the face of the living God and not judge by the world's standards of acceptable, but of God's standard of righteousness.
