God has a plan for your life. It is a good plan, but, I am sorry to say, God’s plan will probably disrupt your plan that you have for your own life. Let me put it more bluntly, if you seek to follow God, He will disrupt your life and lead you to places you never thought you would want to go. He will take you down pathways that you didn’t expect.
It’s actually an old, old story that runs throughout scripture. Noah never expected to build an ark. Abraham never expected to be called away from his homeland to travel to a land far, far away. Moses never expected to be called by God from a burning bush. Gideon never expected to be called from his farm to lead Israel’s army. Samuel never expected to be called by God as a boy to become a prophet. This thread runs all throughout the Old and New Testaments, and it runs square through our text from the book of Romans today.
Paul is working towards the closing of his letter to the church in Rome, and as he does so, he lays out what he would have liked to have done and what he now hopes to do. He says that he has been delayed in coming to visit the church in Rome because he had been spreading the Gospel throughout Asia Minor–establishing churches, converting the Gentiles, and making Christ known. He has wanted to come to Rome desperately, but he hadn’t made it yet. This is what he would like to have done. Now, he shares his hopes: verse 23 and 24, “23But now, with no further place for me in these regions, I desire, as I have for many years, to come to you 24when I go to Spain. For I do hope to see you on my journey and to be sent on by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little while.” This is Paul’s plan. This is what Paul wants. He wants to go to Spain, and on his way to Spain, he wants to stop in Rome to enjoy their company for a while.
BUT...
But Paul’s plan is disrupted by God’s plan. Before Paul can make his plan happen, God has called him to another task. “25At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem in a ministry to the saints; 26for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27They were pleased to do this, and indeed they owe it to them; for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things.”
Paul is taking an offering from the Gentile churches in Asia to the saints in Jerusalem who are in poverty. This is not exactly a risk-free endeavor. Remember, in those days, there was no such things as wire transfers. There were no such things as checks. Paul would have been carrying gold or silver coins along the way. He would have had to worry about bandits and brigands. He would have had to keep careful guard to make sure this money was not stolen. He was taking a risk to deliver these funds to Jerusalem.
But he knew that this was part of his calling as an apostle. He knew that he was called to facilitate generosity. He knew he was called to help these congregations stay in touch with each other and work together. He knew that he was called to build relationships between both Jew and Gentile. Bringing this offering would help do exactly that, and at this particular point and time, building those relationships was more important than traveling to Rome and then to Spain.
Remember, in the ancient world, Jews and Gentiles oftentimes did not get along. Before the start of Christianity, Jews and Gentiles kept separate. They did not associate with each other. Oftentimes, there was animosity between these two groups. Yet, Paul knows that through the Gospel, these two groups have now been brought together in Jesus Christ. In fact, the Gentiles now owe their salvation to the fact that the Messiah came through the Jewish people. Paul says that in this regard, the Gentiles owe the Jews a debt. The Gentiles are actually repaying part of this debt through this generosity.
Perhaps it is good to take a moment to think about this in light of the fact that today we celebrate the Women’s Thankoffering. This tradition “goes back to the 1800s or even earlier. Then, when it seemed that there was not enough money to carry out the work of the church, the women would take action. Gathering in groups called “cent” or
“mite” societies, each woman would set aside offerings at home throughout the year, in thanksgiving for blessings received. And on occasion, the women would come together as we do today, joining their offerings together to support ministry of many kinds.” (ELCA Thankoffering service)
This tradition is rooted and grounded in remembering what God has first done for us. It is rooted and grounded in the fact that Jesus canceled our debt of sin and offered his life in payment for our sins. Christian generosity flows from a heart that is deeply moved by Christ’s sacrifice. For a Christian, our financial plans are disrupted by God’s generosity toward us. When we understand the Gospel, we cannot help but respond in generous giving toward the church and toward the world. We cannot help but want to share with others our treasures. Jesus’ love poured out on the cross leads us to pour out our love upon others. Our offerings, the Women’s Thankoffering, the giving of the Gentiles toward the poor saints in Jerusalem are all examples of our love for God. We don’t give because we are required or compelled. We give because of a deep seated gratitude for what God has done for us.
Paul reminds the church in Rome of this as an explanation of why this ministry is so important and why he will be delayed even further from visiting them. And then Paul asks for prayer. And I want you to notice something very peculiar about what Paul asks for. Paul asks for three things: 1) that he may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea. 2) That the offerings he is bringing from the Gentile churches might be acceptable to the Jewish saints in Jerusalem. And 3) That he might finally be able to make it to Rome and be refreshed by their company. Now, the reason I asked you to look at those prayer requests carefully is this: does it sound like there is a bit of uncertainty in Paul when he asks these things? I mean, why would you pray that you might be rescued from unbelievers? You pray this because there is a good possibility that you will be harmed by unbelievers! God’s plan is leading Paul into dangerous territory!!
Why would you pray that the offering that you are bringing be found acceptable by those who are receiving it? Well, because there is a chance that the offering might be rejected! This might sound far-fetched to us today, but in that time, it was not. Jews were not always open to accepting offerings that came from Gentiles. They might have been gotten by impure means. The coins might have been used at one time for temple sacrifices. The coins might be bearing the image and likeness of Caesar. These were all things that were unacceptable to Jews, and even though some Jews had converted to Christianity, these things were still roadblocks to many. There was a possibility that the Jews would reject the offering!!! God’s plan has some uncertainty in it!!
Finally, why would Paul pray that he might finally get to Rome and visit? Well, there was a possibility that it wouldn’t happen after all, that’s why!! As God’s plan continued to unfold for Paul; as the Spirit led Paul in his work, it could very well lead him away from Rome again! There was still much uncertainty in the air!!
What does this all mean for you and for me?
I think that oftentimes we believe that a life of faith brings absolute security and safety. I think that oftentimes we are led to believe that if I just pray enough; if I just believe enough; if I just give enough; then everything will work out according to the way I see it. Life will run smoothly. There will be no hiccups. There will be no detours. Everything will be good.
This is not what we see happening in the least in Scripture. This is not what we see happening in the least when we see what Paul reveals to us about his life in this text. In fact, we see quite a bit of uncertainty. We see quite a bit of wonder about what the future holds. We see potential pit falls. We see potential danger. We see that living out God’s plan–living with the Spirit leading us–takes us to places we might not want to go. It causes us to do things that we wouldn’t normally want to do. It causes us to take risks we normally wouldn’t want to take. Who would want to face persecution by unbelievers? Who would want to potentially have their ministry rejected? Who would want to think that they wouldn’t be able to travel to a place they wanted to go? We like to have certainty.
But in living a life of faith, there is no certainty in the journey. There is only certainty in the destination. Let me say that again. When living a life of faith, there is no certainty in the journey. There is only certainty in the destination. God has a plan. We don’t know what that plan is, but in the end it will be good. In fact, it will be more fantastic than we could ever imagine. And to hold firm to this, we need to hold firm to our trust in Jesus.
For in Jesus, we see that a life of faith does not always lead us to the best of times. In fact, in Jesus, we see a life that leads us to the cross. We see a life that leads to self-sacrifice. We see a life that leads to pain and even death. If we as Christians are molded into the image and likeness of Jesus, we can expect nothing less in our lives as well. We can expect nothing less than pain and sorrow and death in our lives as well.
But fortunately, the story does not end with death. The story ends with resurrection. The story ends with all evil being reversed. The story ends in triumph. The glory comes after the cross. The joy comes after the sorrow. The light shines after the darkness. The ending is good.
Paul trusted in that ending. For his final prayer lifts this up. “33The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.” The God of peace. Not peace in a calm, tranquil life. But peace in God. Peace in one’s heart. Peace in knowing that no matter what happens and befalls you; no matter that you are knocked away from your wishes and desires and outcomes; no matter that you face pain and sorrow and grief; that God is at work in our lives. God is at work to bring us to the fullness of faith. God is at work to bring transformation and joy. God is at work to bring His plan to fruition–a plan that wildly exceeds our greatest dreams–a plan to make us into His image and likeness. No matter what troubles befall you, rest your hope in Jesus. He has a plan for your life, and it is good. Amen.
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