Philip the Legacy-Leaver
The last we hear of Philip is in Acts 21. It is believed this was about 20 years after the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch we read of yesterday.
Paul and Luke and some others are on a missionary trip, and we read: "Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied." (Acts 21:8-9)
Your Most Important Mission Field
Notice that in the end, Philip's great legacy would not be Samaria, or the Ethiopian man. It was his family. His daughters were women of faith.
I often tell people that if you want to do ministry, start at home. Start by loving your spouse like Jesus loves you. Start by serving and helping and doing things at home that demonstrate your faith. Start with your spouse, your children, your parents, your siblings, your grandparents. Because in the end, that is where your legacy lies.
I read these words in a 1912 Nazarene magazine - and how true they are today: "The home is the God-appointed educator of mankind. We have a multitude of institutions which we call schools, but the real schools, where the real lessons of life are learned, are the homes... We hear a great deal about the higher education, but there is a higher education still - the highest that can be had. It is found in the lofty lessons of self-control and self-sacrifice and sublime faith and splendid trust which home life has such a marvellous power to teach."
Leaving a Legacy That Lasts
A few weeks ago, our newborn twins were baptised at our church. We brought them into the presence of our spiritual family and everyone there committed to helping and caring for our two, as much as they can. It was special to have godparents, and grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles there to celebrate that day and commit themselves to our two.
But in the end it's going to be Shereen and myself, the majority of the time, who will be making a home where our twins learn of God.
Home life must be where they learn that Christians are table-tenders, and boundary-breakers and Spirit-seekers, like Philip.
I ask you today, my friends: are you leaving a legacy of faith in your home? If you are living alone in a flat or retirement complex - how about in that community?
Yes, we're called to go out and do things for God all over the place. But if we aren't doing it at home, and if our home life isn't godly and worship-filled, then what are we really doing?
Philip left a legacy of faith for his daughters. May we not be so focused on the outside that we forget to minister to those we share a home or a community with.
The most lasting legacy of faith is often built at home, not on a platform. Consider today whether the people closest to you are experiencing the reality of your faith.