Day 1069: All are welcome - Acts 8 vs 26 - 31

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27-28 And he rose and went. 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. 29-31 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 8:26-31 English Standard Version

The Book of Acts comes from the time when the apostles were still alive, and when God chose to confirm the message they (and fellow workers) were taking into the world, with amazing signs. So this chapter had started with Philip's ministry in Samaria, and how “unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them; and many who were paralysed or lame were healed.” (Acts 8:7) It was also a time when those messengers of Christ were sometimes given direct instructions by angels. But do you see something in vs 26 that may have puzzled even Philip?

Things had been buzzing in Samaria and many people had become Christians. Yet now he was being sent to 'a desert place'. Is there a lesson here? Would we be willing to serve Jesus in some remote area which may look like having little chance of spiritual fruit? That's the challenge that faced many who set off in past centuries to take the gospel to distant lands, lands with different cultures and languages, and where other religions held sway.

The region Philip was being sent to was not only 'a desert place' - it also meant a journey of over 80 miles! Yet we read of Philip that 'he rose and went'. He immediately obeyed. Perhaps we'd like to think that if an angel appeared to us and told us to do something, we would also obey. But let's remember that in the gospels we have the very words of Jesus, and that's where our obedience can begin.

It was in that desert place, after his long trip, that Philip discovered the reason God had sent him there. (vs 27-28) These verses show how the message of the Old Testament had spread to other countries. Here was a man from Ethiopia who'd travelled to Jerusalem to worship God, and now, on the journey home, was reading the words of the prophet Isaiah. What are we told about him that makes this even more surprising?

He was a eunuch! In the law given to Moses it had said that such a man was 'forbidden from entering the assembly of the Lord'. (Deuteronomy 23:1) Many years later, however, through the very prophet this Ethiopian was now reading, God said: “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from his people'; and let not the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree.' For thus says the Lord: 'To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.'” (Isaiah 56:3-5)

It's common in the UK nowadays to see Churches displaying a huge 'All are Welcome' sign on their notice board. Sadly, it's often accompanied with the rainbow symbol, which is usually associated with the LGBT community. And the implication is that anyone can be a Christian no matter what lifestyle they've chosen. But we see that God's promise to welcome the foreigner and eunuch was for those “who choose the things that please Me.” In other words, while all are indeed welcome to come and learn of God, they also need to embrace the teachings of His word. We ALL need to put on the lifestyle that Jesus calls us to! And so it was that the eunuch invited Philip on board to help him understand what God's word was all about. That's the most important welcome of all!