refreshed in a culture of joy

…so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.

Romans 15:32

One of the great life experiences comes to those who will give themselves to Christian ministry. It is the mutual ministry, true joy, and meaningful fellowship that binds hearts together in service to Jesus Christ. For Paul it was found everywhere he went. He had not been to Rome, but knew the church both by reputation, and by knowing some of her members that he had encountered along the way in his missionary travels. In fact, virtually all of the last chapter of Romans (16:1-23) is a long list of familiar names to both Paul and the believers already in Rome.

Paul unveils his itinerary to the Roman church. First, he was traveling back to Jerusalem in order to deliver a large monetary gift to the suffering saints there. The Gentiles were helping their Jewish fellow Christians who were under intense persecution. Once that gift was properly delivered to the apostles, Paul had a priority one trip to Spain in the works… to bring the gospel where it had yet to make an inroad. On the way to Spain, Paul planned to visit Rome, encouraging the church there to strategically support his Spanish mission trip. He trusted the redemptive work of the gospel to prepare the church to receive him, support him, and join with him in bringing the gospel where it had yet to be preached. This is the kind of commitment that you ask of your friends. Paul was confident that in Christ, his Roman friends would serve the advance of the gospel with him.

This led Paul to anticipate two things from Christian fellowship with this church: joy and refreshment. When Christians are in Christ we enjoy being together. We laugh! We love each other well. We rejoice in our God. It is a great time. It is truly a lot of fun. And we are also refreshed. Spiritual and emotional batteries should recharge in Christian connection! If the opposite ever happens, we have lost our way! The expectation should always be that even in the hard tasks to which we are called, as we mutually labor, the joy of the Lord is our strength. In true Christian fellowship we know joy and refreshment together. And this leads to committed, strong, faithful mutual ministry.