Following Philip's Example

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. —Acts 8:5

Acts 8 tells us that Philip went to Samaria. We may read that in passing and not think much of it. But it actually brings out an important point. Philip went to where people were. Here was a man overcoming his natural prejudice to bring the gospel to a group of people he would not even have communicated with under normal circumstances.

The Samaritans and the Jews hated each other. That is why, when Jesus asked the woman at the well for a drink, she said to Jesus, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"

Yet Philip went down to Samaria. He was not going to let prejudice keep him from bringing the message to someone who needed to hear it. He put those things aside. That is a reminder that there is no room for bigotry, no room for prejudice, and no room for bias in the life of the child of God.

It also reminds us that we should not try to communicate only with people who look just like us. We may be more comfortable talking to someone who is basically our equal in age, gender, economic background, race, or whatever. But God wants us to take the gospel to all people. They may be younger. They may be older. They may be of a different race or background. It doesn't matter. Everyone needs Jesus.

There is another thing. Philip was essentially watering seeds that Jesus had sown a few years earlier. When Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman, she came to faith and went out and told others. Now Philip was laboring in the same area. It reminds us that the process of conversion happens through reaping and sowing, often over a period of years.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000