“But now I have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you. I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey.”
Romans 15:23-24 NLT
Paul had plans! Rome was in his sights. For many years he had laboured in Asia Minor, moving on to Europe but always with his eye on Rome, the capital city and hub of the Roman Empire. Why Rome?
Rome was where everything started and ended…the imperial city, the seat of government…power and control. If Paul could preach the gospel in Rome, especially as close to the seat of power as possible, perhaps the influence of the gospel in high places could change the way God’s people were being treated. The message of Jesus would spread out from Rome in all directions, carried by His followers to every city and town in the empire.
Of course, Paul had no idea that God also has plans for Rome…not the way that Paul anticipated but through his imprisonment in the very precincts of the emperor himself. Paul’s longing to go to Rome would be fully satisfied and even the means to travel there, not supplied by the church in Rome as he thought, but at government expense! Not only would he get free passage to Rome but he would be housed in the palace itself, albeit imprisoned and chained to a Roman guard…a captive audience if ever there was one!
Paul was incorrigible. Even in his darkest moments, he found joy in what God was doing through his pain. He saw light in the darkness. Every trial was God’s opportunity to further the spread of the good news of salvation through Jesus. Paul was dispensable for the sake of the gospel…and he rejoiced in being the vessel God used to pour out His love on a broken world.
“And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear. It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives…But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.”
Philippians 1:12-15, 18 NLT
Paul acknowledged, in his last letter to Timothy, that he would never escape from the clutches of the emperor. His time was up…but he was prepared.
“As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.”
2 Timothy 4:6 NLT
Paul anticipated his death with joy. Death held no terror for him…but only the prospect of meeting his Lord face-to-face and receiving from Him his reward…and for those who served Him faithfully.
“For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.”
Philippians 1:21 NLT
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.”
2 Timothy 4:7-8 NLT
With an attitude like that, how can anyone lose?
Paul’s circumstances, uncomfortable as they were…could not dampen his joy. His letter to the Philippians, written from a Roman prison to one of his favourite churches, was the most joyful of all his letters…full of gratitude for the people who loved, prayed, and served him faithfully, and for the place where God had planted him to shine in the darkness.
Despite Paul’s discomfort and the prospect of execution, he didn’t flinch. He turned his suffering into celebration. Yes, he had experienced his portion of hardships…physical, financial, and even spiritual. Yes, he had even pleaded with God for release from his struggles…but…instead of becoming bitter and resentful, he had learned…what?
“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on hardly anything or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
Philippians 4:11-13 NLT
With Jesus at the core of his being, giving him the power to overcome, Paul has learned to treat his circumstances as irrelevant. Not that he didn’t experience difficulties and trials, but that they made no difference to his inner life. The three most important and significant attributes of Jesus, lost to the human race at the Fall, but bequeathed and restored to His disciples on the eve of His death…His love, His joy, and His peace…held him steady and immovable.
A story on YouTube deeply moved me. An African American woman gave this testimony…after her husband and two sons were shot dead at the bus stop, waiting for the school bus, her response was…“Let’s have church!”
Can we, like Paul, express our trust in Jesus with such conviction that we can say, in the darkest times of suffering…”Let’s have church!”?…and really mean it?
Pain and sorrow are real but…Jesus’ joy can carry us through, if we see Him…above and beyond our earthly suffering…as always with us and always working, in all things, for our good and for His glory.
To be continued