Paul sends greetings to his friends in Rome.
Click here for an online Bible. Romans 16:3-16
Paul has mentioned Phebe who was traveling to Rome from where Paul was. She was likely the carrier of the letter. Now, Paul mentions several people in Rome that he wants to send greetings to.
He mentions 28 people. It is a mix of people. Some we know about, like Priscilla and Aquila who we see in Acts 18. The others, we don’t know much about. It seems to be a broad mixture of people. Some are Jews and others are Gentiles. There are both men and women. There seem to be slaves. Ampliatus, Urbanus, Hermes, Philologus and Julia were common slave names. Aristobulus was probably a grandson of Herod the Great and a friend of the Emperor.
The point is that a mixture of people from a variety of backgrounds came together to be the church of Rome. Too often we let our own differences with people create barriers in Christianity. We segregate into churches of different races and socioeconomic backgrounds. We are all going to be together in heaven for eternity, so we should be able to be together now.
Wouldn’t it be great if our love for Christ and His people would be greater than our earthly differences? I know for many of you, that is your desire also. Make it a matter of prayer.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment