Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from 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 the Kandake (which means “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 Isaiah 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.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭5‬
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

In the book, the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a party of adventurers sets sail to find the seven lost Lords of Narnia. They travel towards Aslan’s country, an unknown land whose course is full of peril and danger. Along the way they have many adventures, both on remote islands and at sea. One unlikely companion, Reepicheep, who was a sword-wielding mouse, was small, but fiercely brave. He was committed to get to Aslan’s country and completing the mission at all costs. Here is what he said: 

“My own plans are made. While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan’s country, or shot over the edge of the world into some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise.”

This is the statement of a completely sold-out adventurer in search of something better in life.

What God asks Phillip to do here is to head out into the desert, without any supplies or food – just because he told him to. And God also asked Father Abram to set out to a “land I will show you”. Both of these men were spiritual adventurers and obeyed God. They threw caution to the wind for obedience to his calling. And in the long run, Phillip and Abram were both richly rewarded.

What unknown adventure is God calling me out of my comfort zone to join him on?

Will I risk it all to join him, without a glimpse into the future?

One additional thing I like here: Phillip came alongside this curious Ethiopian man, and, instead of trying to convince him of his superior knowledge of the Bible, he asks him a simple question. This question is so easy to answer, it starts a dialog where the Ethiopian man asks for his help. The question is this: “Do you understand what you are reading?”

I have found that making observations about what others are already doing or interested in creates common ground to share the exciting news about Jesus. I am trying to do this more and more!

Lord, thank you for the complete trust Phillip and Abram showed in blindly following you. Help me to also follow the example of Phillip and ask good questions of others!