Acts 8:30-31
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" He replied, "How can I, unless someone instructs me?" So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.
Thinking back as a student in school, you probably remember all of the good times, your friends and even some of the teachers. As times goes on, your memories fade and you may only remember a handful of teachers. Those are the ones that made a real impact. I can't remember all of my teachers from grade school or college but I do remember the ones I formed special relationships with. For whatever reason, they had a skill, a method, a personality...something that I could relate to so that I better learned the lesson. Some of those lessons that were taught carried with me to this day. One was to take care of the business at hand and don't put things off. I have tried to pass that along to my kids too.
In today's reading, Philip was sent by the Holy Spirit to the person in the chariot who was having trouble reading the scriptures. Philip didn't hesitate, instead he acted. He didn't wait to assess things, but he jumped right in with holy boldness. He was obedient. On the other side of the coin, the eunuch was open to assistance, like a good student should be. After hearing the lesson, the eunuch seized upon the opportunity to be quickly baptized.
Let us today, pray for our teachers that they may be kind but firm and truthful in their work with students. Pray for our students that they may be open to new ideas and respectful to their instructors. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you holy boldness to act in God's name when you encounter someone who is wanting to know more about Jesus. Remember if we don't strike while the iron's hot, we might miss the opportunity to bring someone to Christ.
