²⁸ Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain. ²⁹ I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

Committed to taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8), the Gentiles in the far reaches of the Roman empire, Paul lays out his itinerary. From the biblical accounts of Paul’s movements we deduce that he wrote this Roman letter from Corinth. He had previously written to the Corinthian believers instructing them to collect money for the benevolence project benefiting the Jerusalem Christians (1 Cor 16:2-4, 2 Cor 9:5). Now he plans to deliver “this fruit” to Jerusalem and then head off to Spain, via Rome.

While Paul’s intention was clear, the means by which he would arrive in Rome was determined by God. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, his presence caused an uproar among the Jews, and he was subsequently jailed and tried in Caesarea. In self-defense, he appealed as a Roman citizen to Caesar (Acts 25:11-12). So he arrived in Rome under arrest (Acts 28:16) and in chains (Acts 28:20). It was not quite how he expected to travel, but such treatment did not surprise him, for he had been imprisoned many times before (2 Cor 11:23-25).

All this was unknown to Paul when he wrote to the Romans. Historically, the church there became significant in subsequent ecclesiastical history. Yet despite the later teachings of the eventual Roman church, there is no evidence Peter had ever been there before it was established, and Paul certainly had not been there yet. In fact, prior to his upcoming first visit, the church was already established and apparently doing quite well, for their faith was “being proclaimed throughout the whole world” (Rom 1:8). It is simply not true that the church of Rome was founded by Peter or Paul.

We have no biblical record that Paul ever made it to Spain, and the non-biblical evidence is scant. Curiosity must give way to uncertainty. What we do know is that wherever he traveled, he desired to “come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.” As he also wrote the Corinthians, “I intended at first to come to you, so that you might twice receive a blessing” (2 Cor 1:15). This of course would be tested by the adverse circumstances of his arrival in Rome. But according to the record of his time in Rome (Acts 27-28) he lived up to his own words, “When we are reviled, we bless” (1 Cor 4:12). We must never think that our situation must change in order for us to be effective in blessing others. Our circumstances can be the very context for “fullness” of blessing to others.

Lord, I want to live my lilfe so as to bring the “fullness of the blessing of Christ”to others.