Acts 8:26-31
26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)
27 So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.”
30 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
When a natural disaster strikes and devastates an area there is an immediate and overwhelming reaction to help and assist. News reports, PSA’s, blogs, facebook, twitter…all broadcasting the event and regardless of race or social status we help. We donate money, time, and resources to the cause.
Act 8:26-31 is a spiritual picture of this scenario. The disaster is not of a physical nature but of a spiritual one. This eunuch is lost and spiritually devastated by sin just as we all are without Jesus’ redemptive gift. God’s PSA came through an angel to Philip. Philip heard, responded, and the eunuch was saved. How many spiritual disasters do we as Christians pass by everyday and don’t respond? I propose that we, myself included, are not tuned into God’s broadcast of the disaster (the Holy Spirit) as much as we are our social media apps. A tree falling in the wilderness does make a sound but you have to get out of the city to hear it…
Why are we so quick to meet a physical need yet Jesus, whom we are to emulate, teaches in John 4:13-14 that it is the spiritual redemption that brings about true and complete salvation. You can never truly meet a physical need unless the spiritual need is met. When God created man he first created the body (physical), then breathed life (spirit) into him, and then man became a living soul. Two parts, both have needs, true ministry is meeting them both. They don’t call it sweet OR sour chicken…
