Dangers of Object Lessons

A 3rd grader went to class and was excited when his teacher brought out a large apple pie and a round pizza. "Today we're going to learn about fractions," she stated. She proceeded to cut the pizza and pie into smaller pieces and distribute them using them to teach about fractions.

At the end of the lesson, when the boy answered a question about fractions correctly, he got a second piece of pie.

When he got home, his mother asked him what he learned at school that day. He replied, "I learned that math is the best subject. You get to eat pizza and pie and I can get more pie if I keep guessing."

Sadly, the kid learned the wrong lesson. He confused the objects used to teach the lesson with what he was supposed to learn, the lesson itself.

We do the same thing in the New Testament. We make Acts 10 and Peter's vision about the food, not the lesson the Father wanted to teach Peter and His people.

Peter got it, even explained it twice without referring to food at all.

When you interpret that passage are you making it about the objects used to teach the lesson or the lesson and interpretation that Peter provides?