Acts 8 begins with Saul approving of Stephen being stoned to
death. Thereafter, persecution broke out
against the church. Many fled from this persecution, including Philip, who went
to a city in Samaria where he continued to proclaim the good news of the
Messiah. Many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. Philip would baptize those, both men and
women, who believed in the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. When an angel of the Lord came and directed
Philip to take the desert road, he did exactly that and encountered an
Ethiopian eunuch. The Ethiopian was in a
chariot on his way home from Jerusalem attempting to understand the Book of
Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told
Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
So, Philip approached the chariot and asked the Ethiopian if he could
understand what he was reading and later translated the passage for him. Philip continued on with the scripture and
the good news about Jesus. As they
traveled together, they came to water where Philip would baptize the Ethiopian
and would be suddenly taken away by the Lord.
Nevertheless, the Ethiopian continued on his way rejoicing.
In my eyes, there are so many themes to take away from this
book. What resounded in my mind and
heart is the notion that God brings people in our lives for His very specific calling;
and conversely, uses us in other peoples’ lives for that very same function of
bringing people to the cross. As it
relates to my own life, I grew up in a dysfunctional family of divorce that
never attended church together. At the
age of four, my father re-married and moved on with his ‘new’ family and left
it solely up to my mother to raise all three kids. It was later on in my adolescent years when I
met my now-wife and we began dating. Her
family was like nothing I had ever seen before, but everything I had always
wanted. They were involved, loving,
kind, welcoming, and, most of all, God-fearing.
At the age of 18, God sent ‘Philip’ into my life in the form of my
wife’s grandfather. This man loved life
with an invigorating passion, loved his family with all of his might, and loved
the Lord with all of his heart. He did
all this while living his life to the highest degree of integrity. It was through his example and our subsequent
friendship that drew me to the Lord and changed my life forever.
For so many of us, whether we know it or not, God is using
us as ‘Philip’ in someone’s life to bring them closer to Him. For all we know, you may be the only Bible
that person reads!
- Ryan Riddle
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