Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

Real Ministry: People

When it’s too hot in the Phoenix Valley, Grace and I head north to the mountains for a little cooler weather. One day at about 6 p.m., we walked into a restaurant and asked for a table. To our surprise, the hostess told us that the restaurant was about to close for the evening. We didn’t quite understand. It was a restaurant at dinner time, and restaurants do one thing: feed people food. The hostess told us there was insufficient staff to run the entire dinner shift. Since they couldn’t get anyone to show up for work and serve, they would have to close early. We went to a few more restaurants and ran into the same problem.

Meanwhile, look at the Church of Jesus Christ. Across the world, people are serving, and most are unpaid volunteers. Jesus’ Church is the biggest movement of any sort or kind in history, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, it is sustained by loving, humble servant volunteers. Visitors may walk into a church and think, “Wow, they must have a really large staff.” Most churches do not have a large staff. There is a multitude of people who love God, most of whom serve for free. People do more for love and for Jesus than they will for a paycheck because they follow Jesus’ example to serve.

As a pastor, I want to thank those who lovingly serve at Trinity Church and those worldwide who serve their churches because of their love for Jesus. Pastors and staff couldn’t do our ministry without faithful volunteers like those mentioned in this concluding section of Romans, and I am forever grateful. For much of Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome, he has focused on theology. Now, he is going to focus on relationships. He gives a list of people he honors, commends, and publicly thanks for volunteering to serve Jesus through local church ministry.

Now, I will be honest: when reading Romans in the past, I have skipped this list of names. But now, the names are some of my favorite Bible verses. These are people God loves and saves and works in and through. Their lives, legacies, and destinies were altered, and they are part of our spiritual family. We will see them in heaven one day, and it will be an amazing family reunion!

Today’s Reflection

Do you usually skip over these sections of the Bible? What can you learn from people Paul recognizes by name here?