By: Steve Wilmot
Edgerton, Ohio
It was a tough three years for Paul. Arrested without cause. False charges were brought against him. Tried three times for the same trumped-up charges. Everyone knew he was innocent, but they kept him in prison anyway.
Finally sent to Caesar in Rome — the Supreme Court of the day. Shipwrecked after a terrifying storm that lasted weeks en route to Rome.
Put yourself in Paul’s shoes. How would you have felt? Exhausted? Forsaken? Disillusioned? Stressed out? Though the specifics are different, are you there right now?
You feel at the end of your rope. You can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. You don’t think you can take another step.
You feel all alone. Even God has walked away. You need what Paul needed. Read on… “The brothers there (in Rome) had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us” (Acts 28.15).
These few words may not seem like much, but believe me, they are. What we need when we are exhausted and feel alone is someone to show us they give a rip. Someone who will walk with us through the dismal times.
Years ago, Beck and I received devastating news about one of our children. The wind was knocked out of us. We didn’t know what to do.
A couple from the church heard the news and drove to our house. We filled them in on the details. All four of us cried. We knew there was no quick solution. No easy answer.
So, our friends did the only thing they could. They wrapped their arms around us and said, “We can’t fix this for you, but we want you to know you won’t have to go through it alone.”
And we didn’t. It made all the difference in the world. That couple didn’t have to drop what they were doing to rush to our house to be with us. I don’t know how inconvenient it was for them to come to our house that evening. But I do know they came.
Their presence — that night and for the next several years as we walked through this crisis — enabled us to survive.
That’s what the “brothers in Rome” did for Paul. The two towns mentioned in verse 15 are both approximately 65 miles from Rome.
They couldn’t catch a flight or hop in their cars for an hour’s drive to meet Paul and accompany him for the rest of his trip. They walked. Sixty-five miles. One way.
They sacrificed family time. They took a few days off work. It was inconvenient. But they came.
Their brother in Christ needed them. He was alone. He needed to know he wouldn’t go through what was ahead by himself. He needed more than words. More than prayers offered from a distance.
He needed to know he was not alone. The rest of the verse reveals the bottom line: “At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged.”
These guys didn’t set an ambush against the Romans and free Paul from his unjust imprisonment. They didn’t quote Bible verses to him.
They didn’t unpack their guitars and lead an hour of praise and worship. They just showed up. They provided more than lip service and quaint sentiment.
They dropped everything they were doing back home to support and encourage Paul in an hour of grave darkness and uncertainty.
When he felt like he couldn’t take another step, he could lean on them. And as soon as Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.
Do you have a few people like that in your life? A small group from your church that you meet with weekly to build relationships that enable you to do life together?
You need them. You may not be in a crisis right now, but you will be some day. And someone may need you tomorrow.
If you don’t have a few friends who would gladly do what these guys did for Paul, you are in for some tough times ahead. Find them and begin to build community with them.
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.