Paul closes off his letter here in chapter 15 by again sharing his heart with his readers. And again we see the heart of a true missionary. He is preoccupied with his role in sowing the blessings of Christ as broadly as he can. We can tend to think of mission as a professional calling taken up by an elite few while the rest of us just go to church and try to help God out when we can. But this is not the way God sees it. You are a missionary. God has dispatched you into the world to do something and he expects you to think strategically about how you can do this. You are here to make a difference and you can do that through ordinary relationships. You are like an army medic in the battlefield. You have to get out there so that you can find the fallen comrades. You can’t just huddle in the trench. Paul always went where he felt he could serve God’s mission. That was his priority. He didn’t make decisions based on personal ambition, financial gain, social standing or even pleasure. He followed the opportunities to serve God. Mission wasn’t his ‘job’, he earned money as a tent-maker, and, no doubt, met lots of people in that way too. Mission was Paul’s life. And mission is your life too, if you will choose to really live. God will open the doors for you to impact the lives of others in his name. You just need to be willing and responsive.
Think about what opportunities you have to put yourself out in the community.
Read Romans 15:14-33
