Word for Wednesday
All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household. Philippians 4:22
Where are some of the most unlikely places in the world to find a Christian? In the headquarters of huge businesses, perhaps? Or in the gambling dens of Las Vegas or Atlantic City? Maybe we would be unlikely to find a true believer in the Vatican or in the headquarters of some other large religious organization. If you were to ask Christians in Paul’s day where it would be hard to find a fellow-believer, they would probably list Caesar’s palace as probably devoid of anyone with any spiritual light. But they would be wrong! And so are we when we rule out the likelihood of Christians being in a certain place or situation.
How many Christians were in Caesar’s palace? More than one, and probably more than half a dozen; in fact, there was probably an entire Assembly there. Most of them would be slaves. Were they saved through Paul’s preaching? We don’t know, of course, but it is likely that they had been reached with the Gospel before Paul arrived in Rome. Only a few, and yet, there were more Christians in Caesar’s palace than anyone might have expected. God always has his faithful and precious few, and you and I are among them.
Paul’s arrival in Rome would have been a frightening thing for him. But finding Christians in the palace itself would be a wonderful surprise and comfort. You and I, by our faithful presence in the place where God has us, can be a comfort and blessing to other Christians who need fellowship. Does our classroom or workplace have other Christians in it? Or have we tried to find them? When we travel, do we encounter other Christians along the way? How do we know they are there? When we are shopping or are out in the community for any reason, do we encounter other believers? How do we know. Only by behaving as Christians and speaking for our Lord will those around us know that we belong to Christ. And we will often be surprised at who shows up and declares their faith in the same Christ.
Wherever we are and whatever we do, God will bring us into contact with other of His children. Let us make ourselves easy to identify, because the encounter will always be a blessing to us. -Jim MacIntosh