When you think of who God used to lead you to Jesus, who comes to mind? When you think of who reflected Jesus to you in how they loved others, who do you picture?
I imagine quite a few that I know would answer with my father’s name. My dad was a hero at spending time with people through home visitations. While pastoring for over two decades, he was known just as much for taking time to visit people as he was for being a pastor. The personal touch came easy to him; he was able to lead several people to Jesus on their deathbeds because he had taken the time to sit with them through the years.
My father reminds me of Philip in Acts 8. Here, God sets up a divine appointment for Philip to share the Gospel with an important eunuch from Ethiopia who oversaw the queen’s treasury. This devout eunuch had just finished a trip to Jerusalem to worship and was a true seeker of God. When Philip approaches him, directed by the Spirit, the eunuch is meditating on a prophetic passage from Isaiah 53. However, he is not aware that the passage is a messianic prophecy that points to Jesus.
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. Acts 8:30-31 (NIV)
Like this Ethiopian eunuch, many today seek to know God but lack the revelation of who He revealed Himself to be in Jesus. As Jesus declared, when you have seen Him, you have seen the Father (John 14:9). The Apostle Paul makes clear that it is our responsibility as believers to proclaim this good news:
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? Romans 10:13-14
God was drawing this eunuch to Himself and was willing to chase him down, through Philip. The eunuch invites Philip to sit with him in his chariot and help him understand what he is reading. Sitting with someone involves taking the time to be with them. It’s an invitation to fellowship. Philip accepts the offer and shares the good news of Jesus Christ with him. Historians claim that once this eunuch returned home, he was the first to share about Jesus in Ethiopia.
In your life, who is the Lord leading you to who is searching for Him? Whether it is a divine appointment that is momentary, or someone that you’ve “sat” with through the years, He wants to work through your testimony to fill in the blanks to the questions they have about Him. Like Philip, may you be sensitive to His promptings and recognize these eternal moments.
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