LIFE SCRIPTS

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
Acts 8:26‭-‬36 NIV, Acts 8:38‭-‬40 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/act.8.26-40.NIV

The Spirit of God quickens us into action. Here, Philip, the evangelist who was seen preaching in Samaria is suddenly quickened to attend to an Ethiopian official who was spiritually hungry. God at times sends us to environments where people are already yearning for good news. Their hearts are prepared and ready to accept the good news. But the only missing link is that one person to lead them to Christ. The sending might not be supernatural like the case with Philip. God might use other means such as our work or neighborhood to get us closer to those He desires to hear the good news. Perhaps one of the big barriers to sharing the gospel this way is culture. How did Philip handle this? He asked the Eunuch if he understood what he was reading then went to sit with him and explain to him. The posture that Philip took was a friendly one. He went to the Eunuch (in fact scripture says that ‘he ran towards’ his chariot). He broke all known protocols a Jewish man would hold dear when dealing with a Gentile. All this in order to share the good news. God is always pleased when we choose to cross cultural barriers in the name of sharing the gospel. Infact we have the gospel today simply because early missionaries like David Livingstone chose to walk this same path. Perhaps today (save for a few remote communities), the world is entangled in a global village. We are all interconnected through many platforms among which social media stands out. Social media has embedded a strong culture among young people we seldom think of engaging as messengers of the gospel. Social media is a ground ripe for the gospel. Evangelists, teachers, pastors, apostles and others have an opportunity to touch many at once with daily verses, reflections and podcasts through such platforms. Today’s young person has many questions about the gospel (same way the Eunuch had). Perhaps if we choose to move closer to them by sharing on such platforms, they’ll have confidence to accept Christ and carry the gospel to unknown lands (their peers) just like the Eunuch did.