As a result, Peter was now free to enter the home of Cornelius, a Roman officer, and be used by the Lord to lead Cornelius and his family to the Lord.

The vision of the blanket was given to Peter as permission to step over Jewish customs of not entering the home of a non-Jew or even associating with them. Peter’s response to what happened to him, was this, “God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean” (vs. 28). Peter went on to say, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right” (vs. 34-35). As a result, Peter’s actions opened the door for Gentiles to believe in Jesus.

Some of my friends choose not eat pork, carrying on a similar tradition from Jewish law. Paul had to address this as the Church expanded deeper into Gentile territory. As issues regarding the eating of certain foods, Paul said, “ If someone who isn’t a believer asks you home for dinner, accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience” (1 Corinthians 10:27).

I have other friends who choose to carry on another Jewish custom to not spell out the name of God. They write God’s name without using the letter “o” and spell His name as “G-d.” Historically, this was done in Jewish tradition to honor God and avoid taking His name in vain. I respect the motive behind such a choice, but I can’t find any reference that Jesus required this of His disciples.

Our relationship with Jesus did not grow more casual; it deepened into a friendship with Him. He told His disciples, “I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me” (John 15:15). Jesus was not so concerned about some words we choose and how we write them or the food we eat. He was more concerned about the condition of our hearts.

This was not written as some word-monitoring exercise for God’s people. It’s simply something to consider to help us examine why we continue to do certain things and then attach God’s approval to our choice.

If such choices make a person feel closer to God, I will never tell anyone to stop making those choices. It’s between that person and God. Since we are now friends with the living God, we can have differences of opinion and still get along because we are His friends.