Philip and the Ethiopian EunuchActs 8:26-27

In a quick reading Acts, most of us would not have guessed at the start of Philip’s ministry in chapter 6 that he would ascend to such spiritual heights in chapter 8. Philip’s ministry began as a lay-deacon humbly passing out the widow’s portions in the Jerusalem church. But it soared to unimagined heights when persecution hit. Though he was not a professional, God’s power worked through him to the despised Samaritans, and large numbers of them heard and believed the good news and were saved. In the last half of Acts 8 Philip’s ministry is still rising to its height. However, instead of the vast multitudes of Samaria (or preaching at a large church), the mission of God now comes through Philip to one man in a desert place far from the large city. God valued that individual as much as the multitudes, and he used Philip to touch his life.
 
We are often fascinated by great tales of “chance” encounters. Somewhere along a lonely road in the middle of nowhere, a man suddenly appears and asks a Christian traveler, “Can you tell me who Jesus is?” Luke’s account of Philip’s divine intersection with the Ethiopian sounds amazing to us, but it would have been just as fascinating to first-century Romans or Greeks, for in their view Ethiopians lived literally at the southern edge of the earth. 
 
I remember a particular day back in my small hometown when I was in high school.  I was preparing for hunting season and went to the shooting range near a wildlife reserve area.  I specifically chose this range because it was always empty, except on this day.  On this day an man named Paul, one of the new pastors in our town was there.  I made a valiant attempt to avoid eye contact, but Paul was having none of that, and he started a conversation that included the gospel of Jesus and an additional part just for me.  Paul said, “I feel like I need to tell you that you are going into the ministry and God is going to do some great things through you.”  I almost laughed at this because I was at best a nominal Christian with a cultural attitude.  I held my thoughts in, but I knew that there was no way I was going into vocational ministry, and I was not likely to even show up to service that weekend. 
That conversation stuck with me for years, until I found myself years later at a crossroads and making the choice to go into vocational ministry.  Paul knew back then, what I had yet to discover: 
In God’s value system, it matters not whether you preach to hundreds in a city or one in the wilderness. Your faithfulness to the call of God is the only measure of success.  God takes full responsibility for the life fully devoted to him, and I am thankful that Paul took a risk to have a conversation with a stubborn high school kid in a small town. 
 

1. What is an action step you can take to change your world like Philip?
2. What are some things that might stop you from taking these steps?

 
Daily Prayer: God, thank you that our success is not measured in the same way that the world measures it, and that you are faithful to us and take full responsibility for the consequences when we submit to you and your authority. 
 
Supporting Reading: Acts 8