Romans 1:8 – Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world. 9 God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.

10 One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. 11 For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. 12 When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

13 I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. 14 For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike. 15 So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News. (NLT) 

In today’s reading, we encounter the burning desire that the Apostle Paul has to reach all people with the message of Jesus Christ.  In verse thirteen, Paul states that he had wanted to visit the church in Rome so that he could work among them.  The work that he had planned was to reach out to those who did not know Jesus.  This becomes clear in verse fourteen, where Paul writes that he has an obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world.  As in some translations, and in the original Greek, Paul writes: I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians (NKJV).  To the Greeks, anyone who was not a Greek was a barbarian.  So, Paul is not implying that any people were inferior, rather he is simply using the language of that day.  Nonetheless, we can see that Paul was willing to share the Gospel message with anyone, and everyone. 

Paul also states in verse thirteen that he had been prevented from visiting the church in Rome.  Paul was not saying that people or governments prevented this, but that he was divinely prevented.  We catch more of this thought in Acts 16:6 – “Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. 7 Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. 8 So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.” Paul shared the Gospel message with all that he could, but he followed the Holy Spirit’s guidance as to where and with whom.  Likewise, when we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us, we will be led right to the person(s) with whom God wants us to share the message of Jesus.

I pray that each of us will allow the Holy Spirit to guide us.  As with Paul, it may not where we had planned.  I pray that we would be willing to set our plans aside when they are outside of God’s plan.  If we are willing to follow the Holy Spirit, there is someone this very day that we will have the opportunity to share the message of God’s love through Jesus Christ.   

Let’s be willing to follow the Spirit’s lead!   

Posted by Ramón Torres