April 19, 2007

“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” Acts 1:1.
Luke, who was the author of the Gospel bearing his name, is now beginning his next book – the Acts of the Apostles. In his first book, he tells the story of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, and in this second book, he plans on recounting the life of those followers of Jesus and the growth of this new movement that proclaims Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In this opening line, he tells us briefly about his previous book, and we notice that he is addressing this writing to the same “friend”, whose name is Theophilus. Not too much is known about this person, Theophilus, but, if he was an actual person, he was most probably a close friend of Luke’s and was educated enough to be able to read his friend’s account.
But there is another thought concerning this “person”, which might be disguised in the translation of his name. In Greek, “theo” can be translated as “god” and “philus”, whose root is “philia”, can mean, loosely, “friend of”. So the name, Theophilus, could be translated as “friend of God”. It could be that Theophilus was an actual person, for this was a fairly common name back in his day, and, possibly, a friend of Luke’s, or it could mean that Luke’s writings were focused on anyone who deemed themselves as either friends of God or friendly towards God, with the desire to learn more about what God has done in Jesus.
For the last 2000 years, “friends of God” have been reading and studying Luke’s books to learn more about the life of Jesus and about the bold and almost reckless devotion of His followers, as they spread the story of their Lord and Master. Through the last several years, I have personally sought to become, more and more, a “friend of God”, as I have sought to understand what the implications are to being a follower of Jesus, and to apply them to my life. It is my hope that, as we journey together through the Acts of the Apostles and the life of the early church, you, too, will seek, as God’s “friend”, a deeper connection with God and with His community. Take some time today to reflect on what it means to you to be a “Theophilus” – a friend of God. What are some of the implications and applications to your life today?