the    sides

This is part of our weekly journey through the book of Acts. Today is from Acts 8.

There’s so much going on in this chapter. First, there is the effect of the death of Stephen had on the church. It scattered them all except for the Apostles - what Luke calls the 12. In man’s eye this would be a bad thing - scattering of resources. But God isn’t man. What man sees as wisdom, God laughs as foolishness. What man sees as weakening the church, God sees as strengthening it. The Church was designed and purposed to be worldwide, scattered to all people in all places. Again we see how God doesn’t waste anything - pain, death, hurt, sickness - but uses all for the advancement of His story.

Second, we get a few more sentences about Saul - the great enemy of the church. He’s there at the death of Stephen. He was probably there at all the trials of Peter and John. Now he’s dragging men and women off to jail enforcing a vigilante justice of the San Hedrin. When we see Saul’s ‘turn-around’ in the next chapter, it’s easier now to see why the Apostles were so reluctant to accept him.

Lastly, the contrasting stories of Simon the Magician and the Ethiopian Eunuch. Their only similarities with each other were they were both foreigners.

Simon was a con-man. Used deception and slight of hands to make a living as well as have a fan base. Simon woos both money and attention from people. He’s a taker, not a giver.

The Ethiopian was an intellectual. One of the most honorable men in Ethiopia. He was in charge of the Queen’s finances. He was a truth seeker not for the sake of gain but simply for the sake of truth. His whole life was about serving others.

At one level, both men loved God for what they thought God could do for them. I guess we all do at some level. I first ‘accepted’ Jesus because I didn’t want to go to hell. Did I love Jesus? Yes….because he was going to save me from hell. Would I have loved Jesus if he couldn’t/wouldn’t save me from hell? No. Let’s face it, deciding to follow Jesus isn’t exactly an entirely altruistic decision. I’m at a place now in my walk where if I end up going to hell - I’ll go loving Jesus and thinking he was the greatest person to ever walk the earth. But my relationship with him didn’t start out that way. And neither did Simon’s.

Simon saw the power of the Holy Spirit to change lives - he wanted it. He offered to pay for it. It sent Peter off the deep end.

“To hell with your money! And you along with it! Why that’s unthinkable - trying to buy God’s gift? You’ll never be a part of what God is doing by striking bargains and offering bribes.” The Message

Simon’s words point to a deeper problem. Simon thinks he can manipulate God. Most of us can admit that we first loved Jesus because He could save us from hell but we weren’t the under the illusion that we could put God on the take. Simon apparently did. He saw what the Apostles were doing in terms of miracles and wrongly believed he could do that to. Except the disciples weren’t doing the miracles, the Spirit was through them. God wasn’t on the take and that’s what Simon wanted - to somehow work God into personal financial security.

Simon saw God/Jesus/Spirit as a commodity. The Ethiopian saw them as Truth.

Simon gets rebuked and embarrassed. The Ethiopian gets released to impact a country for Jesus. I think it’s possible to start a relationship with Jesus off on the wrong foot, for the wrong reasons. I also think He loves us enough to not let us stay there.