Openings for Good News
OPENING PRAYER:
Opening Prayer: God, give me strength today as I share your love with others. Open my eyes to the people around me that may be ready to hear how much you love them.
“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 Candace, 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.”
REFLECT:
Here God provides the perfect opportunity for Philip to share the message of Jesus. The Ethiopian eunuch is reading a passage from Isaiah 53 that is pointing towards a coming redeemer for the people of God. The Ethiopian eunuch does not understand what the prophet Isaiah is trying to say, and Philip uses his questions to put forth Jesus as the redeemer to which the scripture is pointing. With God’s help, Philip uses the Ethiopian eunuch’s own questions about what he is reading and how it relates to the world around him to point him to Jesus.
We live in a time where it seems like everyone is searching for answers in all the wrong places. We see those around us searching for meaning in the praise of others, in politics, and in worldly ideas of self-love. With everything going on in the world, it’s not hard to understand why people are so confused. Could we use the questions of those around us to help point them to Jesus?
According to Christian apologists, there are four fundamental questions of life. People want to know where we come from. We want to know how to determine right and wrong. Everyone wants to know their purpose and we also ask questions about, where we go when we die. If we do not have a faith rooted in Christ, then it is easy to see how we might be side-tracked by all the other answers out there. God is the answer to all these questions.
Philip used his divinely-appointed opportunity to share the message of Jesus by using the pure curiosity of the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip allowed the natural course of his conversation with the Ethiopian eunuch to lead him to the message of Jesus.
We can do this, too. God has placed people around us with questions about their life. Do you know anyone who seems like they are searching for answers? I know I do. If we pay attention, we can use these opportunities to point our friends and loved ones to the person of Jesus as the answer to life’s biggest questions.
APPLY:
Think through how you would share Jesus as the answer to some of life’s biggest questions. Practice how you would answer a friend who might come to you asking you what you believe. If you do not know how you would answer, then find some resources or a mentor to help guide you through this.
CLOSING PRAYER:
God, lead me to those who I can point to you. Show me ways that I can help others see you as the answer to the questions they are facing.