The Secret to Connections

Talk about “connections”—I couldn’t even begin to count the silks woven atop a shrub in front of my home. My, those spiders had been busy! I’d been thinking about the end of the book of Romans and found, yes, a symbolic “connection” with truths about “connecting” in the body of Christ. Call it “friendship,” or “belonging,” or “feeling fulfilled”—it’s all the same basic picture of believers weaving together their skills and compassion.

Most people recall Romans as a Grand Canyon of theology. It goes from the depths of man’s depravity, through the layers of Jewish history, to the heights of salvation by faith in the risen Jesus Christ. But at the end Paul seems to let out a big “whew” and say, “Hey, greet my church friends there at Rome, especially these.”

But here’s the catch: Paul had never been to Rome when he wrote the Roman church! Most Bible scholars place him writing this about A.D. 56 at Corinth, where he lived about three months before being chased away by plots against him.

So how did he know so many people in Rome? Possibly some were converted at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, and met Paul a few years later after his conversion. Others he may have met during his own missionary trips. Somehow, sometime, they’d moved to Rome and started or connected with the church there. Paul wouldn’t get to Rome himself until around A.D. 60, and then as a prisoner.

Name after name fill Chapter 16. Others are counted as being parts of house churches. But when Paul pauses to say a little more about someone, he often commends their service for the Lord.

Phoebe was a “great help to many people” including the apostle.

Priscilla and Aquila, also hard workers for Christ, even risked their lives in ministry. We know from Acts that they had a church in their house and had discipled the talented speaker, Apollos.

Mary worked “very hard.”

Others were commended as “fellow workers,” “tested and approved,” “women who work hard in the Lord,” those who “worked very hard in the Lord. The mother of Rufus was praised as being a like mother to Paul, too.

Spiritual gifts are woven all through this list. People served others. They taught and led. They stood against persecution. Rufus’ mother must have been an encourager. These people were web-builders as they deliberately cross-connected for Christ. Even as transplants to Rome, they weren’t shy about digging in and serving one another.

I used to think of Romans 16 as something of a Biblical “autograph book” bearing names of people whose identities have passed with time. Now I see it as a powerful reminder that, wherever God has put us, He has planned a way for us to serve and honor Christ. It might happen through church-sponsored programs or another opportunity that’s Christ-centered. The most important thing is that people are served for Jesus’ sake, and our faith grows.

Paul said it better in his final statements—that the end result of all this is that “all nations might believe and obey him” (v. 27).

In both the spider and spiritual world, webs grow one strand at a time. It doesn’t happen when we sit on the sidelines. Being a part of the grand web of spiritual connection, in some way, is expected of those who claim the name of Christ.

P.S. Talk about "connections"--several years ago, at a Christian writers conference, I met Grace Fox,  another writer with Northwest connections. She writes and speaks from British Columbia, Canada, and has published an excellent book on a felt need of many women: Moving from Fear to Freedom: A Woman's Guide to Peace in Every Situation. She also writes a blog where she features other authors, and this week I'm her guest:  http://www.gracefox.com/2012/10/19/friendship-friday-author-interview-with-jeanne-zornes/