When I Became the Ethiopian Eunuch

5th of July (or When I Became the Ethiopian Eunuch)

The 5th of July is important to me because of what was going on in my life 12 years ago:

Prologue

I was really searching for God by this time, and I even had been going to a friend's church and attending events by campus organizations while attending college at the University of Cincinnati. School would be closed on Thursday, July 4th, and it would be open for Friday, July 5th.

I came back to the apartment on Wednesday, July 3rd, made something to eat, and l laid down on my bed. It was so hot, like it has been this weekend. I picked up the Bible my Mom had given me when I was 14, and opened it to the book of Acts. I didn't ever recall reading that book before. I fell asleep with the Bible open to Acts 26. I know this because I woke up the next morning with it laying upon my chest.

So, on July 4th, I spent some time with some folks from a campus organization I had been hanging out with. We had a great time.

The Fifth of July

On July 5th, as I was exiting my French class at 11:30 AM, I saw two young women approaching one of my classmates. They invited her to a "Bible Discussion." That's unusual, but not that unusual. I remembered the Gideons standing at the top of one of the campus streets, passing out copies of the Gideon New Testament. Apparently, my classmate didn't take them up on their offer, and the young women continued on their journey.

I walked over to a tree that stood just west of Tangeman University Center. A group of people were already sitting there, so I proceeded a little further, planning to sit down and do some studying. As I sat down, I noticed one of the guys come over and invite two guys sitting next to me to a "Bible Discussion." They weren't interested. Then he turned and invited me.

"As long as it's from the Bible, sure," I replied, a bit suspiciously. So I joined their discussion, and proceeded to ask everyone their names. Then we jumped into the Bible passage, which was Acts 8:26-40, about Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch. I couldn't believe it. This was one story that struck me as quite interesting when I'd read it for the first time only two days earlier.

After we read the passage, the young man leading the discussion asked, "What would make someone like the Ethiopian eunuch behave this way?"

I raised my hand, full of excitement, and told the group that I had just read this passage for the first time only two days earlier, and I thought it was awesome.

We continued with the discussion, and, as people were leaving, Steve, the man who led the discussion and invited me to it, asked me if I wanted to study the Bible some more. I told him, "I'm always interested in learning more about the Bible." I had really been stuck in my personal Bible study. I really didn't know how to prioritize what to study and read, and so on. This offer to study with someone else encouraged me.

We set up a time for the following Monday, to meet at the same time and place.

That, my friends, was the introduction to my becoming a true follower of Jesus Christ. Twelve years ago today. Wanna hear more?