When they came up out of the water, the Lord’s Spirit suddenly took Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Philip found himself in Azotus. — Acts 8:39-40
A side effect of getting older is losing control–of your body, your mind, your plans, your finances, your driving…well, you get the idea.
This inevitability should teach us something, regardless of age: the more we realize that we’re really not in control to begin with, the better we can live today.
That’s the lesson behind Pentecost and its aftermath. Philip woke up one day compelled to run out into the desert and talk to a stranger (a “eunuch”). The disciple hadn’t planned on doing this, and hadn’t consulted Google Maps. He just got out and ran and found the man and witnessed to him and baptized him. Then, just as abruptly, he’s taken away and “finds” himself in a strange place called Azotus.
No warning, no preparation. Run into the desert, talk to a stranger, then somehow find yourself in a new place.
The heavy burden of instant knowledge (i.e., Googling) is obsessive-compulsive “what-if-ing” as a way of dealing with life, past/present/future. When we see the silliness of this, we might lighten up a bit. There IS something special, unique, and promising today that we might miss if we worry with what-ifs.
If we say the Spirit is lively in our lives, then we really should act like it, don’t you think?