The Apostle Paul is the author of the Epistle to the Romans (see Rom 1:1). Do you think Paul was friendly? He seems too serious to me to be silly but he did have so many friends. Here are those he mentions in the last chapter of Romans: Phoebe, Prisca, Aquila, Epaenetus, Mary, Andronicus, Julia, Ampliaatus, Urbanus, Stacey’s, Apelles, Aristobulus, Herodion, Narcissus, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus, Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, Philologus, Julia, Nereus, Olympus, Timothy, Lucius, Jason, Sosipater, Gaius, Erastus, and Quartus. Paul was connected heart to heart to people in diverse places. He spent years sharing the good news and helping equip those new believers who then became servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am still in Prague and thinking about packing. Three months is not a lot of time to build memories but either was that one week when our parents would send us off to summer camp. I still know some of those early people who we connected at the heart. God is building His Kingdom, one believer at a time. We will have a church potluck tomorrow eve and after Sunday service I know I will not see these people again until we join Jesus for eternity. I keep saying, “See you on the other side”, but I mean it. Today we flash a smile and engage someone who becomes a new friend. Some stick while others do not. You know what I’m saying. Paul also knew those who were simply enemies of the gospel. I saw an online photo of a Christmas tree all gussied up with rainbows. The good news is not about how you express your sexuality but about living by faith in God who knows us better than we know ourselves. How do we affect the people we meet? I’m quoting ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’, (which I finished reading last night), pg 37, describing her first impression of Mark, “He’s got that way of believing his opinion is the truth, but he’s not disagreeable about it. He’s too sure he’s right to bother about being disagreeable”. I’m wondering if Paul was like that. At times they did try to stone/murder him, but I think they did not like what he said. Can we be more like that – not offensive in manner but in fact? Who are our friends who tolerate our enthusiasm for Jesus, are still friends, but not in agreement? There will be goats and not all are sheep. The Bible tells us so. All those people we have come to know and love are in one of those two groupings. Even flashing a smile will do nothing if they are not seeking. We are not alone in this journey but want to share Christ as best we can to keep people out of hell. I’ll finish with this. I read a piece today by John Spadafora, of Crossworld, on global and local sharing of our faith. Spadafora suggests the following questions as we engage: 1) What is good that we can celebrate, 2) What is missing that we can contribute, 3) What is evil that we can resist, 4) What is broken that we can fix, and 5) Who can we invest in (my edits)? We are supposed to do the stuff that will lift up Jesus and then He will draw all men/women to Himself. Thank you Prague. I wish I had language that may have communicated beyond a flashing smile but I hope volunteering at the library made a difference to some.
