Running to Obedience

I love the story found in Acts chapter 8 of Philip and the eunuch.  To fully understand what is happening in this narrative, let's look at it piece by piece. 

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place.  And he rose and went (Acts 8:26-27a).”

 Did you catch that? “And he rose and went.”  That’s it.  He simply obeyed the angel of the Lord and did not question why he was going.  The church was growing in Samaria with Philip’s leadership, yet God called him to leave that area and head towards the desert.  It certainly wouldn’t make sense.  There was so much work left to be done right where he was.  We get a glimpse of Philip’s faith in the Lord, knowing that the church’s growth in Samaria is because of the Lord and nothing Philip has done.  

“And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.  And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”  So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him (Acts 8:29-31).”

I love the wording here when it says “Philip ran to him.” He doesn’t wonder why he is instructed to go to this chariot, nor does he contemplate whether he should obey or not.  Obedience is so important to Philip that he just runs.  How often do we run to the path of obedience? If we are honest, it could be more often that we are running from obedience to what God is calling us to do.  

“Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
    and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he opens not his mouth.

In his humiliation justice was denied him.
    Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”

 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”  Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus (Acts 8:32-35).”

Philip shares the gospel message with this eunuch.  He starts with the question that the eunuch has and points him to Jesus.  Too often we fear sharing the Good News about Christ with our friends, co-workers, and neighbors because we think that we might not know the answers to every question we encounter.  I hope this sets you at rest - you won’t know all the answers.  We do not have to know the answers to every theological question to share the Good News of Jesus with those around us.  This frees us up to not shy away from sharing what we do know - our story:  

• We were sinners in need of a Savior.  

• At the right time, Christ opened our eyes to the truth of the gospel, saved us from the eternal punishment of our sins, and gave us abundant life in Him. 

 “And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.  And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.  But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea (Acts 8: 37-40).”

I wonder at this point if perhaps Philip shared with the eunuch that the Spirit told him to “go over and join his chariot.”  Surely the eunuch saw Philip running and asked him why he was doing so.  However it all played out, I believe Philip modeled immediate obedience for this eunuch.  The first thing the eunuch wants to do after Jesus opens his eyes to the truth is to be obedient; and he seems in a hurry to do it, just like Philip.  Are we in a hurry to obey what God has commanded us to do?

Often I have said to the Lord, “I want to obey you, Lord. Just show me what you want me to do.”  I’ve prayed this with my bible sitting right next to me unopened.  However, God’s word is how He speaks to us, and friend, he has already told us what He wants us to do.  These are just a few of the countless instructions to us to be found in God’s word:

• Go and make disciples  - Matthew 28:19-20

• Love your neighbor - Matthew 22:39-40

• Rejoice - Philippians 4:4

• Abide - John 15:4-5

• Deny yourself - Luke 9:23-25

Let us, then, be 

• eager to daily abide in Him through His word.  

• quick to love our neighbors when we find out they are struggling. 

• have a sense of urgency in discipling one another.  

• lose no time in rejoicing throughout the day.  

• run to serve others and deny ourselves.  

May we run together in obedience to the Lord today.

Praying for you,

Andrea