I am dirty, so unworthy

There has been some scripture that has been laying on my heart and in my mind a lot of the last week or so.

In Acts, Luke is recounting what happened after Jesus rose from the dead. It actually reads kind of like an adventure story. But the part of it that has been sticking with me is in chapter 11- Peter is telling the other apostles about this vision that he had, where a voice from heaven is telling him to eat things that have been seen in his culture as "impure" or "unclean" for thousands of years. Peter is appalled at this request, but the voice tells him, "Do not call something 'unclean' if God has made it clean."

After this event, Peter has an opportunity to share the gospel with a group of Gentiles and all of them come to know God through that and receive forgiveness for their sins, a rite that was only for the Jews until Jesus came. And Peter defended himself to his fellow apostles by saying, "Who was I to stand in God's way?"

According to biblical standards, I am a Gentile. To my knowledge, no one in my family history was ever Jewish. Back in those days, I would have been looked at by others as "impure." As sinners, we are all unclean and impure. But through Jesus' sacrifice and God fulfilling His plan of redemption, we are all made clean.

But, how? Why? Why would God ever decide to do that? It doesn't make sense.
That's God's crazy love. It really reminds me a lot of the song "You and I" by Shane and Shane. The bridge of the song has one of them singing the words, "You are clean, I've called you clean..." over and over while the other sings in the background, "I am dirty, so unworthy..."

Do not call something 'unclean' if God has made it clean. 

Good Word.