Theology for Everybody: Romansنموونە

If you look at the New Testament, it is a record of ministry from city to city. First and Second Corinthians are written to a city called Corinth. Galatians is written to a city called Galatia. Romans is written to Rome. Disciples would go from city to city, and by AD 300 (less than 300 years after Jesus’ life, death, and Resurrection), upward of half of the people who lived in major Roman cities were Christians. They loved Jesus. Ninety percent of people who lived in rural farming communities were pagans. (The word pagan comes from the Latin word paganus, which means ‘someone who lives on the farm.’) Christianity did not start as a suburban or a rural movement; it was an urban movement that went from city to city.

The Holy Spirit employed this strategy through men like Paul because cities are upstream, and rural areas are downstream. You’ve got transportation, education, law, shopping, economics, and politics in the city. Decisions are made in the city. Culture is created in the city, and it flows out from there to the suburban and rural areas.

Paul has been working in one portion of the Roman Empire and will now transition to Spain. He has collected an offering and will take it to Jerusalem, where Jesus died and rose again. Then Paul will pass through the city of Rome and visit the Roman believers for some time. His ultimate goal is to start a brand-new season of work in the region of Spain. As I previously mentioned, the apostle was likely at least 50 years old and had experienced an exceedingly difficult decade. He was beaten up and beaten down. But he is planning a journey that would be a minimum of 3,000 miles.

Imagine you wanted to go from Scottsdale, Arizona, to Anchorage, Alaska, but there were no trains, planes, or automobiles. You just had to walk or figure it out. That is exactly what Paul was going to do. The region of Spain he wanted to minister to was larger than his previous three missionary journeys combined. Getting older didn’t mean that Paul’s vision was getting smaller, and that’s an encouragement to us all, especially us older saints.

Now, there is a big debate among historians and theologians: Did Paul ever make it to Spain? We don’t know. Most historians would say no. There are a few potential lines of reasoning from church history and the church fathers that would indicate perhaps he did make it to Spain. We tend to have something called a bucket list, and the goal is to check everything off your bucket list before you die. However, Paul didn’t live by a bucket list; his vision may have been bigger than his life.

You need a reason every day to get up and do something for the Kingdom of God. The vision for your life should be bigger than your life. Please don’t feel bad if you haven’t accomplished everything you were hoping to do—Paul probably didn’t, but he still fulfilled God’s call on his life.

Today’s Reflection

What is the top item on your bucket list?