Honoring and Testifying

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

HONORING AND TESTIFYING

Rom 16:1-16

16:1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. 3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5 Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. 8 Greet Ampliatus, whom I love in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.

NIV

Well, it looks like they are to greet everyone. This is quite a list of people that Paul commends and asks this church to greet them in a way worthy of the saints, which would be all a holy kiss, it would appear. The other truth we see here is that all these people worked hard in the Lord. Paul does make a special comment about most of these people, but the general theme is they all have been tested and approved in Christ and work very hard in the Lord. Here is where the rubber meets the road for us. What would be said about us,  if someone was to give us a reference to another church, or for that matter within our home church? Would anyone testify that we work hard in the Lord? Would anyone say that we are servants of the church, which means the people of the church? Would people give witness that we have helped many people? What would people say regard to if we have been a fellow worker, which would imply that we are working in concert with others, not being self-fulfilling, in a sense? We also notice how many women Paul mentions bringing them into concert with all the other believers, as well as lifting up their position in the body of Christ, which surely went against the general concept of society at that time. The modern church has left all that behind and functions with equality for all, as we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord, equal in the eyes of God. However, we still have this responsibility to greet one another with a holy kiss, that is to give a great deal of respect and love toward each and every one of our fellow believers, honoring them, as well as testifying of their diligence in their service to the Lord. This then would fit right into the theme of honoring others above ourselves and being used to being honored by others as well, as each honors the other, all members of the body of Christ are being honored and testified about being hard-working for the Lord. Surely, all these people Paul mentioned were not a full-time paid staff of his, but people who volunteered their efforts to serve the Lord, coming from all walks of life. We do not know how they supported themselves, but the important thing is they served the Lord with all their being. How are we doing in the modern church? Are we all working that hard for the Lord, or are we sort of just including some church activities into our daily lives of making sure we have enough of everything we want materially? Nevertheless, we get this idea that working hard for the Lord is or should be our first priority, serving in concert with all others, as we honor them, testifying of their service to God.