“This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.” Acts 6:5-6 (NIV)
You may not have heard of it, but could have been guilty of dabbling in it. It is called ‘The older I get, the better I was syndrome’. This describes our tendency to look at the past through false rose tinted lenses and thus exaggerate things more than the reality suggested. Older people tend to think that their younger years were far better than the present, but the reality and records often suggests that those days were no less evil than today. The bible is great at letting us understand that human nature remains unchanged by the passage of time and that there will never be the perfect man; pride and prejudice can never be bred out of the human nature. The bible also shows us that whatever God accomplishes through us is more often in spite rather than because of who we are or what we do. So, we have no reason to boast in our proficiency.
The tendency for us as Christians is to gaze into history and hanker back for the days of purity and power that characterised the early church, but thankfully, the bible is true in recording for us the warts and all stories that characterised the lives of those triumphant saints who laid the foundation of the church. Its consistent conclusion is that they were not perfect. One such story led to the event quoted above. It is proof that the modern evil of racism, xenophobia and all sorts of discrimination is in reality nothing new to the church. The bible also details how God works around human frailties in order to execute His plan of salvation for mankind and fulfil His promise.
The early church had just experienced phenomenal growth and was confronted with the politics and problems that resulted from that growth. It seemed as if the Hebrew speaking widows were being favoured, no doubt by their fellow Hebrew speakers, above the Greek speaking widows and that crisis became an opportunity for some of the Hellenic Jews to assume leadership positions in the church that was dominated by their Hebraic Jewish brethren. One of such men was Philip, a man whose life had a far greater impact than he could have imagined. Philip’s story is an object lesson, which proves the fact that whatever obstacles men may place in your path, either maliciously or in ignorance, God is big enough to navigate a way around it in order to fulfil His plan for your life. It is also proof that God can transform an adverse situation into a positive one and enable you to prosper and fulfil His vision for your life.
So, are you presently hemmed in by situations that will not allow you to prosper as God intended? Has the prejudices of men formed a brass ceiling over your head through which you seemingly cannot break to become all that you can in God? Take courage to move on in your life as you consider Philip’s story. The God of Philip is still alive and would do the same for you if you will trust Him.
Prayer:
Lord, the frailties and inconsistencies of human character have never prevented you from accomplishing your plans. I look to you today to remove every obstacle that men have either ignorantly or maliciously placed in my path to stump my progress and do declare that your will be done in my life in Jesus name. Amen.