13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. Romans 1:13-15
As a Roman citizen, Paul understood the mentality of the Greeks well. Greeks felt that anyone who did not speak Greek were uneducated, other than to be respected, and even barbarians. I read something funny (not sure if it is true or not) but the word barbarians came from the sense that whenever a Greek speaking person listened to someone who did not speak Greek, it sound to them like “bar, bar, bar-bar, bar-bar-bar, bar”.
Ever since Paul’s life adjustment on the road to Damascus, his charter had been to reach the Gentiles with the gospel. Although he longed to see the Roman church in person, he had to maintain his focus and energy on reach as far and wide as he could to reach as many Gentiles as possible with the Good News.
APPLICATION
As I read this today, my mind went to whether I am putting the right energies and focus on my primary ministry. “What is your primary ministry?”, you might ask. Well, first and foremost, I am chartered to lead my family well, be the husband and father God has called me to be. Secondly (I mentioned this the other day in my post), is to invest in people. That comes in the form of Discipling, Counseling, and Growing/Guarding/Guiding the sheep of Canyon Hills Community Church as an elder. Priority 0 is my relationship with Christ. So, I am compelled to keep the Big Things, the big things and be careful of the potential distractions as honorable as they may sound.