"Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, 'Go south to the road - the desert road - that goes down to 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 Isiah 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.
"The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
'He was lead like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,so he did not open his mouth.In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.Who can speak of his descendants?For his life was taken from the earth.
"The eunuch asked Philip, 'Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?' Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, 'Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?' And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea." Acts 8 : 26 - 40
Last week we talked about how Jesus is like a moose. He's amazing! And he invites us to follow him. But that begs the question, "What does that look like?" Jesus is not a tangible person in our lives we can follow, and besides, following someone is weird...and stalkers are generally frowned upon. It's just a bizarre thought to follow Jesus.
But what if we thought of Jesus as more of an older brother. A role model that we follow around. Someone we try (and often fail) to copy. Thinking of this relationship as a sibling relationship really brings this concept of following Jesus down to earth for me. Little siblings always try to mimic what the older, cooler ones are doing, but are just incapable because they don't have the skills yet. And yet the younger sibling continues to try until they get better. So as Jesus followers we should go where Jesus goes and do what he did.
Where did Jesus go? Reading the gospels, especially Mark, will give you a great picture. Jesus traveled all over, staying in houses of friends. He hung out with everyone. As you read, you can begin to notice a pattern. Jesus went to where the people were. He didn't just hang out with the people at church or the local InterVarsity large group. He went to the people that had questions; questions that Jesus answered; questions that wouldn't have been answered otherwise. So if we are to go where Jesus went, we should go to where the people are. This could be your job, your classes, maybe even your dorm.
What did Jesus do? He engaged with people. He answered questions, had hard conversations, and became friends with these people. He pursued the relationship and was able to explain what it is like to have abundant life. I think, put simply, Jesus explained to people how to have relationship with God. Engaging with people in this way is easy when you go to where they are. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how many people want to talk about Jesus but are not comfortable with coming to large group or church or a bible study.
But what if we thought of Jesus as more of an older brother. A role model that we follow around. Someone we try (and often fail) to copy. Thinking of this relationship as a sibling relationship really brings this concept of following Jesus down to earth for me. Little siblings always try to mimic what the older, cooler ones are doing, but are just incapable because they don't have the skills yet. And yet the younger sibling continues to try until they get better. So as Jesus followers we should go where Jesus goes and do what he did.
Where did Jesus go? Reading the gospels, especially Mark, will give you a great picture. Jesus traveled all over, staying in houses of friends. He hung out with everyone. As you read, you can begin to notice a pattern. Jesus went to where the people were. He didn't just hang out with the people at church or the local InterVarsity large group. He went to the people that had questions; questions that Jesus answered; questions that wouldn't have been answered otherwise. So if we are to go where Jesus went, we should go to where the people are. This could be your job, your classes, maybe even your dorm.
What did Jesus do? He engaged with people. He answered questions, had hard conversations, and became friends with these people. He pursued the relationship and was able to explain what it is like to have abundant life. I think, put simply, Jesus explained to people how to have relationship with God. Engaging with people in this way is easy when you go to where they are. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how many people want to talk about Jesus but are not comfortable with coming to large group or church or a bible study.
A practical way to apply this is to read about one thing Jesus did, and try to do that for a week. Pick something you read in bible study, at church, or just on your own, and try to mimic what Jesus did. Sometimes Jesus just ate with people and talked over a meal. He washed peoples feet. He reached out the lonely. He served. He prayed for healing. What would your life look like if you committed to being Jesus' little sibling; to try and copy what he did? This could be one of the hardest things you commit to, but so many amazing things could happen on our campus and in our lives. And we already have such a great community, there are people for you to check in with. I would encourage you all to find someone to partner with in this commitment. You are able to support each other and hold each other accountable to this commitment. I also hope and pray that this blog can do the same for you; that you can find support, accountability and encouragement here in the comments.
