It’s common wisdom to say that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than it is for permission. In Acts 10, Peter does neither.
Something astonishing has just happened. It appears God’s saving grace has been freely offered to those outside the Jewish faith. That wouldn’t have been something everyone would have easily received. Peter struggled with it himself. But when the Holy Spirit became undeniable, Peter realized what it meant. God had already acted.
Afterwards, Peter doesn’t stand up and recite new rules. He doesn’t call for a committee meeting or a vote. He asks a question: “Can anyone withhold the water?” In other words, who are we to stand in the way of what God has already done? Peter realizes that the church has not been asked to grant access to God, but to bear witness to God’s generous movement in the world.
Now, let's reflect on what that means for our ministry today.
Too often, we imagine ourselves as spiritual gatekeepers who get to decide who is ready, who is worthy, who fits, and who belongs. We don’t say it out loud, but our hesitation, our silence, and our caution can be like withheld water. We create barriers not because we are cruel, but because we are afraid. What will happen if all these new people come?
Acts 10 reminds us that the Spirit does not wait for permission. God moves first. The church follows second. 
Now it is we who must ask for forgiveness. Not so much because we broke a rule, but because we forgot our calling. The church exists not to manage grace, but to testify to it. To point to the living Christ already at work in the world.
The question remains: Can anyone withhold the water? And the faithful response remains the same: No, because God has already poured it out.
Stay blessed...john | 
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