In contrast to how we usually write
letters today, Paul started with the “heavy” stuff at the beginning of this epistle
and put the lighter “housekeeping” material nearer the end. But even here there
are plenty of important points we need to pick up.
Paul is laying out his plans: He’s planning
to come visit them, but first he needs to go to Jerusalem with a relief
offering that’s been collected from believers in Macedonia and Achaia. There
apparently was a huge need for financial assistance to the poor in Jerusalem.
He makes a very crucial aside here
which we need to consider. We talked
about our debt to the Jewish people last year, but it’s always worth
remembering. Once again, I think I’ll plagiarize myself:
“You
pay tribute to their language every time you pray: ‘Amen.’ When you say ‘Hallelujah,’
you’re speaking Hebrew. A verse from Leviticus is on our Liberty Bell and a
representation of Moses with the Ten Commandments is above our Supreme Court.
Yes,
I know that the Lord gave us all that. He gave us the Ten Commandments. He
revealed all we know about where we came from and what went wrong in the book
of Genesis. He gave us the thrilling stories of Joshua and the lessons from the
life of David. But he gave us all these
things through the Jews.
But
most important, above everything else, God gave us our Savior through them.
When he came to earth, he entered the womb of a Jewish teenager. He grew up in
a faithful Jewish home, and all his first followers were Jewish.”
Add to this the fact that all
of God’s word which you hold in your hand (or see on your computer screen)—minus
two lonely books—came to us through the Jews. All of the apostles were Jewish. Our
spiritual debt to them is literally incalculable.
And because of this, the situation
called for more than merely saying “Thank you.” There were Jewish believers in physical
need, and this called for practical help. That’s what Paul means in vs. 27: “For
if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to
the Jews to share with them their material blessings.” It’s nice to think and
say nice things about those who’ve been the conduit of spiritual blessings to
you. That’s good and right and proper. But all too often our gratitude ends
with thoughts and words. Gratitude, like love, needs to be a practical thing.
On a more personal note, how’s about
the people who’ve blessed you spiritually in a more direct way? How’s your
pastor doing financially? Or your church staff? I know I know I know. Money’s
not supposed to be the reason why anyone’s in ministry. Any minister should be
perfectly willing to make financial sacrifices in order to further the Kingdom’s
work. But that in no way relieves you of your responsibility to financially
support those who’ve blessed you spiritually.
And there’s another point here, one
that’s very touching. In verse 30, he asks the believers in Rome to pray for
him. He asked them to pray for safety in his travels, that his love offering
would be favorably received in Jerusalem, so that he could ultimately come to
them and “in your company be refreshed.”
Let’s ponder that for a moment,
shall we? Paul—the apostle Paul, who’s
been visited personally by Jesus and who’s writing Scripture at this very
moment—is asking them to pray for him. And he wants to see them, so that he
could be refreshed (encouraged, strengthened) by them. By ordinary believers,
just like you and me.
My friend, I can only dream
of being as close to Christ, as spiritually mature, as bold in proclaiming the
Message as this man was. But he wanted and needed prayers and intimate encouragement from ordinary believers. That tells me that no matter how far
along you are in your walk with Christ, you still need prayers from others. You
still need encouragement from others. In this life, you’re never “past” this.
The Lord designed his Body so that each of us needs the other. As we say in the
IT world, it’s a feature, not a bug.
Again, I can see an immediate
application in the person of your pastor. How often have you sent a note
encouraging him, letting him know how much he’s blessed you and that you’re
praying for him? I certainly can’t claim innocence in this either. Let’s make a
pact, shall we, to pray for and encourage those who’ve blessed us? And make
sure that their material needs are met. Instead of adding to their burden, let’s
see what we can do to make it a little lighter.
Father,
how can I bless my pastor today? How can I work off some of that debt which I owe
him?
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