when in Rome

And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

Acts 28:16

Paul's ministry dream has come true. He longed to preach the gospel in Rome, the seat of the Roman Empire and the center of Paul's culture. Paul had been to a lot of big Mediterranean cities. From Jerusalem, he had brought the gospel to places like Antioch, Ephesus, and even Athens. But Rome was the top of the world in terms of strategic importance as a city. And Paul is there, unhindered to boldly proclaim the gospel while awaiting his appointment with Caesar under house arrest (see Acts 28:30-31).

The journey to Rome was arduous, pushing endurance as it involved arrest, beating, long imprisonment, ping pong trials before a variety of officials, and an eventual appeal to Caesar by Paul who as a Roman citizen was able to thus procure a free journey by sea to the center of the empire. Aboard ship Paul endured storm and shipwreck, all the adventure any Mediterranean sailor of ancient times could have imagined. But once in Rome, he was able to relax, still a prisoner, but in a rented room, under minimum security with a Roman guard, fully allowed for two years to preach the gospel as his case slowly ground through the system, moving up the docket to Caesar.

Reading the last two chapters in Acts, I notice that there are seasons of ministry frenzy punctuated by rest. There are storms and wrecks, fears and unknown difficulties. There are also fires on the beach, and personal prayer times. There are new islands onto which God washes people ashore. There are miracle healings and snake bites. There are new believers and stoic soldiers like Paul's Roman guard who just keep witnessing the gospel and its power firsthand, but seem unfazed by it. It's a lot of life that is true to our own experiences today.

Paul in Rome, though allowed to finally rest, doesn't seem to want to do so. Instead, even under the terms of a house arrest, brings a stream of visitors in to his home in order to proclaim the gospel and advance Christ's kingdom. The gospel never takes a vacation!