Not Far From the Kingdom


9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. Acts 8:9-13

Not much has changed since this was written. The “angel of light” still deceives well-meaning Christians.

Simon was a “mixed bag.” On the one hand, he pretended to be someone great. On the other, he was hungry for the truth so he was drawn to a godly man, Philip. In the end, even he was amazed at the signs and wonders that Philip performed in Jesus’ name. Clearly, Simon was not far from the Kingdom as he was following Philip around. The final seeds that Philip planted seemed to lead Simon towards repentance and belief.

How many seeds were planted before he heard Philip? How close was Simon to the Kingdom prior to this? Had he actually heard Jesus teach? We’ll see errant thinking later but for now, we have to accept that Simon believed.

Seeds. It’s all about the seeds that you and I plant. Tiny seeds, fat seeds, awkward seeds, polished seeds.

Seeds, seeds, seeds.


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