Becoming a Super Dot

To whom do you go when you have a really important question?

For me, the go to person was my dad.

I swore Dad knew everything.  He had books on all sorts of subjects from ancient history to child psychology, in Greek, Russian, German, and Italian, as well as English. Oh, and he could read them and understand them.

He was a teacher, so he was a guide for many and an understanding one at that.  His specialty was working with those who others considered "slow", which he understood as uniquely gifted to see the world through a different lens, the lens of action and theater.

Those who couldn't learn from books and lesson plans, learned by immersion in plays, music, dance and song.  He brought history, science and language arts to life and the students flocked to him.  He was a shepherd leading his sheep from certain slaughter in the world to salvation and pote tial.

Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it." So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. -Acts 8:29-31

Of all the stories in the Acts of the Apostles, this one of Phillip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch is one of my favorites.  It takes a simple message, talking about Jesus, using the Scriptures, in this case Isaiah, and it adds another element, the Spirit of God.

The eunuch is reading Isaiah in his chariot. There is no backstory here.  Who is this eunuch? Why is he trying to understand Scripture? Where did he get the book or scroll?

The spirit moves Phillip to go to him. 

Sure, this is what Phillip set out to do, to spread the word and bring people to God through Jesus, but would he have found the eunuch on his own?

I believe the job description of the Holy Spirit is a simple one, be a dot connector for humanity.

The eunuch was not yet baptized, and the Holy Spirit was already engaged in helping him find answers.  That tells me that the way to God is not hidden from anyone.  All can find it, and it is the work of the Spirit of God to match up the enlightened with those seeking, the healers with those in need of healing, the employer with those in need of work, the teacher with those in need of training.

We are all called by God to be one of the dots in need of connecting, sometimes as Phillip and sometimes as the eunuch. 

My father had a keen understanding of his role as a super dot, someone guven the gift of gathering many to himself to ignite their love of learning so they could become super dots themselves.

What a great legacy to leave behind.  He instilled in me that same longing to connect, to be a resources for others, and to leave them with more than they had when we met. 

Pray that the Spirit helps me.

More to come...