If you heard the words, “I want to tell you what I really think of you”, what would be your reaction? Oh no, here it comes. I’m going to get it now. What if the next words were so encouraging, so uplifting, that you look behind you just to be sure this person was speaking to you. You talking to me? The Apostle Paul, in a rare autobiographical moment, shares his heart with the church of Rome. He affirms, encourages, and expects much of the church. He pours on the encouragement. We all need encouragement. This section of Romans gets at Paul’s WHY. Simon Synek has this theory that companies that can answer why they exist do better than those that just know what they do or how they do it. It’s the difference between Apple and Microsoft. One sells computers. The other sells life enhancing experiences. Interesting thought. Not sure I totally buy into his theory. Forbes pushes back on this. But I do believe answering the why do I exist question is a good one. Paul would say, according to Romans 15:4-33, I exist to encourage the heck out of the Gentile world to embrace Jesus as the sole answer for the longing of their souls. Everything he did was about pouring on words of encouragement to the secular world around him. Go into the world and encourage people. Lift them up. Speak life and truth into their lives. This is not some pop psychology technique attempting to gloss over the real condition of people’s hearts and destinies. It’s a way into people’s hearts with the love of Christ, the center of the gospel. Paul reveals his strategy of encouragement in our passage for this weekend.
Todd
