But before I come, I must go to Jerusalem to take a gift to the believers[l] there. For you see, the believers in Macedonia and Achaia have eagerly taken up an offering for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially. As soon as I have delivered this money and completed this good deed of theirs, I will come to see you on my way to Spain. And I am sure that when I come, Christ will richly bless our time together. Romans 15:25-29 (NLT) Paul was going to Jerusalem with an offering from Gentile churches to help the poor Christians there. Though Christians in Greece were separated from the poor Christians in Jerusalem by many days in terms of communication and transportation, Paul nonetheless said that they had a duty to send aid to meet the needs of those distant believers. This is a principle the church would do well to heed today. 1 John 2:17: “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?” Christian love is not only shown a heroic deed of self-sacrifice, but in a daily life of compassion. If the Gentiles had received the gospel, spiritual blessing, originally from Jerusalem, surely they would want to offer financial blessings. As believers we should offer help to those who need in the accomplishment of God’s work. Paul had just previously sought their support in his travelling to Spain. He was showing them how Christians can reach out for one another. Paul wanted to go to Spain because he saw it at the very end of the western civilized world. He desired to extend Christianity there. In addition, Spain had many great minds and influential leaders in the Roman world. Paul thought perhaps Christianity would advance greatly in such an environment.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 00:35:37 +0000
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