Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

Paul mentions Urbanus and Stachys. I love the fact that they are called a “fellow worker in Christ” and “beloved.”

Perhaps they are listed together because they are friends. Maybe one is more practical, and the other is more relational. Urbanus may get lots of work done, and Stachys may understand love. When they work together, they multiply their effectiveness.

When we have relationships with people like this, it’s amazingly easy to do life and have a good relationship with them. I like to say that relationships are like cars—some get good gas mileage, and some get bad gas mileage. If somebody works extremely hard to serve and another person is very secure in their identity with the Lord, then people who have relationships with them get good gas mileage. There is more giving than taking in the relationship because God meets everyone’s deepest needs.

Sometimes people are hard to have a relationship with because they don’t have a healthy relationship with the Lord. Even a human best friend is a bad Jesus. Ultimately, you and I need to be loved. We need security and dependability. If our relationship with God is secure, then it meets our relational needs to such a degree that we can love and serve others without needing them to do anything for us in return.

Paul then mentions, “Apelles, who is approved in Christ” (v. 10). How do you get approved? You take a test. If you pass the test, then you’re approved. What does it mean that Apelles is approved? To put it bluntly, he’s been through hell. He has been through tremendous difficulties, but he still loves, trusts, and serves God.

If God has approved you, you don’t need to prove anything to anybody else. You don’t care what anyone else thinks. You don’t have to perform for them or live up to their expectations. Instead of living for an audience of many, you live for an audience of One. We need to stop looking at others and wondering, What do they think of me? Instead, we need to look up to God and hear Him say, “You are beloved. You are approved.” When we do so, the pressures of life fall away to be replaced by the pleasure of God.

Today’s Reflection

Are you living for an audience of many or an audience of One?