I have always wondered what the ancient city of Rome was like when the Apostle Paul was there … and when he wrote the letter to the early Christians living there.
Alas, the ancient city of Rome has been buried in 2,000 years’ worth of subsequent history, or else dismantled as building materials were used in newer building projects over the years.
But the ancient city of Pompeii (from the exact same time period as ancient Rome) has been perfectly preserved for us … having been literally buried in ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius (just a few years after the Apostle Paul was in Rome). By looking at the ancient city of Pompeii, we can get a pretty good idea of what ancient Rome might have been like.
Here you can see the entryway to a wealthy home. “Domus” is the Latin word for home. So, it looks like this particular “domus” was the home of “Augustiani.” Must have been someone fairly important I’m guessing.
Peering through the entryway, we can see into what used to be the open-aired atrium, with its reflecting pool of water. And further on back, past the pillars, we can see where the fancy gardens used to be.
Here you can see fancy pitchers and pots which might have been used in wealthy homes such as Augustiani’s.
Here you can see a couple of fancy fresco wall paintings which adorned the walls of wealthy homes such as Augustiani’s.
This give us a good idea of what the city of ancient Rome probably was like. Wealthy Roman homes probably employed many slaves to keep the household running.
It was to these people living in this society that the Apostle Paul wrote a letter. The letter to the Romans. This letter is in our Bible today.
Why did the Apostle Paul write a letter to the people of ancient Rome??
Because they had heard the good news of Jesus Christ – how Jesus was the Savior of the world – and they had turned from worshiping false gods and goddesses to worshiping Jesus Christ. These people did not have the Bible to instruct them in the matters of faith and doctrine. The Bible had not been written yet.
These people did not have any instruction for how God wanted them to live. They had no instruction for how to live in a way which is holy and pleasing to God.
God loved these people of ancient Rome … and God wanted to send them instructions to help them. So God had the Apostle Paul write a letter.
What were the instructions God had for these people?
“Be joyful in hope.” – Romans 12:12
That’s it??
God wants them to be joyful … and to have hope??
This is how to live in a way which is holy and pleasing to God??
Yes! Being joyful and having hope is how we live in a way which is holy and pleasing to God.
A life “marked” by Jesus is a life which is characterized by joy and hope!
But life is hard.
Life drains us. Life takes everything out of us.
There is so much bad in the world.
It was no different in the times of ancient Rome. Life was every bit as hard back then. Life drained the people back then … just like it does today. Life took everything out of people … just like it does today.
There was a lot of bad in the world back then, just as today. People were being conquered and taken captive as slaves by the Roman empire. People were being oppressed and mistreated as slaves. There was massive political corruption. The “bad” in the world back then was every bit as bad.
And God’s instructions were: “Be joyful in hope.” – Romans 12:12
What is there to be joyful about?? What is there to be hopeful about??
For starters, we can be joyful because we are no longer controlled by sin anymore. If we have put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, repenting of our sin and giving all of our badness and sin to Jesus … Jesus takes it all away. Sin no longer has any control over us!
Now that is something to be joyful about! That is something to give us hope! We have hope because of Jesus!
Not only that, we can be joyful because God has given us his very Spirit to live in us! When we repent of our sin and give all of our badness and sin to Jesus … God, in turn, gives us His Spirit. We now have the Holy Spirit living inside us!
Now that is something to be joyful about! That is something to give us hope! The very power and presence of God is in us! That’s amazing!
Just like hubby and I were “marked” as tourists because we had our bright orange “radios” on lanyards around our necks … with earpieces in our ears so we could hear everything our tour guide was telling us … it is the exact same when it comes to being a Jesus-follower.
If we are a follower of Jesus Christ, God gives us the Holy Spirit to be our “tour guide” through life. The Holy Spirit now lives in us! The Bible is like our bright orange “radio” on a lanyard around our neck … with an earpiece in our ear to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us.
Hubby and I were clearly “marked” as tourists because we followed our tour guide wherever she led us. When she stopped, we stopped. When she pointed, we took photos! (as you can see here – Ha!)
In the exact same way, when we are “marked” by Jesus Christ, we will follow/obey the guidance & direction of the Holy Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit speaks to our soul to let go of an offense … we obey the guidance, we follow the direction. When the Holy Spirit speaks to our soul to respond in kindness to the angry retort from our coworker … we obey the guidance, we follow the direction.
As hubby and I followed our tour guide around the ancient ruins of Pompeii it wasn’t necessarily easy. It was very very hot that day! Very hot! The streets were not smooth. But rather the footing was rough and uneven … we had to watch our step. There were crowds! Lots of crowds! We had to pay attention and keep up with our tour guide.
But the joy! There was so much joy in learning all about Pompeii!
Even in the heat … even with the uneven, rough footing … even with the intensity of the crowds … it was still such a joyful wonderful experience!
This right here is what life is like! Life is hot! Very hot! Life is not smooth or easy … but rather our journey through life is rough and uneven. We have to be careful and watch our step. Life presses us on all sides with intensity … like the press of crowds!
It would be easy for us to focus on the heat … to constantly gripe and complain because it is so hot! To have a miserable time because of the heat.
It would be easy to focus on how hard the journey is … tripping and stumbling, as we constantly gripe and complain about how uneven and rough the way is.
It would be easy to focus on the press of the crowds … griping and complaining that the crowds are ruining our experience! The crowds are getting in our way, they are ruining our photos, they are causing us to have to wait in line! The crowds are making this whole thing miserable!
It would be easy to lose sight of our “tour guide” … the Holy Spirit.
If we get separated from our “tour guide” – the Holy Spirit – we can no longer hear his voice in the “earpiece in our ear.” Besides, we can’t hear the Holy Spirit’s voice in our soul if we are busy griping and complaining the whole time anyway!
A life “marked” by Jesus Christ is a life characterized by joy … and hope!
Joy … even though life is hot!
Joy … even though the path is rough and uneven.
Joy … even though the press of the crowds is intense!
Joy … because of our “tour guide”! Joy because the Holy Spirit is guiding and directing each step! Joy because the Holy Spirit is refreshing our soul with “living water” so that we don’t get parched in the heat.
Joy because the Holy Spirit is pointing out things we never knew before! Joy because the Holy Spirit is teaching us … and making us more like Jesus!
Joy because the Holy Spirit is showing us what to point our camera toward … so that we know what to focus on! So that we know what’s important. So that we know what to remember.
Joy … and hope!
We are not on this life-journey all by ourselves. We have hope because we have Jesus! We have hope because we have the Holy Spirit to guide us! We have hope because God loves us!
A life “marked” by Jesus Christ is a life characterized by joy … and hope!
