Thurgood Marshall was a Supreme Court justice from 1967 until 1991. Before this appointment, he argued more cases before the high court than anyone else in history, and won nearly all of them. The most famous case struck down segregation in public schools. He argued public schools were separate, unequal, and unjust. In Acts chapter 10, we find God taking action to break down segregation in order to move His agenda forward. God revealed both before and upon Christ’s arrival that the message of the Gospel should be proclaimed all over the world. Still, his disciples needed a push to break out of their culture and ethnicity. Persecution was one way. But God also opened Peter’s eyes another way. The vision of animals on the rooftop showed him God’s intent to include both Jews and Gentiles in God’s new community. Peter went to the home of Cornelius, a Gentile, and God displayed His concern for inclusion by giving the Holy Spirit to Gentiles, people of a different culture and ethnicity. Today when we serve and welcome people irrespective of ethnicity or social distinction, we help fulfill Christ’s vision of an inclusive church.
