Saturday 19 January 2013

He went on his way


Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. – Acts 8.39

What a great encounter. Two men meet in the Gaza desert. One of them is an official in a royal court, the other a simple believer. One is looking for an answer and the other one has the answer. One needs Jesus, the other has Jesus.

But God put them together. It is the ultimate example of what some call a 'divine appointment.' Philip preached about Jesus. The man from Ethiopia got saddled and then baptised. When they came up from the baptism the Spirit carried Philip away and when the Ethiopian realised that he was gone he 'went on his way rejoicing.'

We don’t know for sure what happened after this. We do know however that there have been Christians in the Ethiopian region since the very early days. Most church historians tell us that the first century believers there are a direct result of this one man’s conversion.

The great truth is that this man left the encounter rejoicing that he had met Jesus. Many of us revel in the joy of our salvation. We have to ask ourselves if we are really willing to share that joy with others.

And you knows what the long term result might be? 

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