I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them. Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace, I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit. So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God. Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum. My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says, “Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand.” In fact, my visit to you has been delayed so long because I have been preaching in these places. But now I have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you. I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey. But before I come, I must go to Jerusalem to take a gift to the believers there. For you see, the believers in Macedonia and Achaia have eagerly taken up an offering for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially. As soon as I have delivered this money and completed this good deed of theirs, I will come to see you on my way to Spain. And I am sure that when I come, Christ will richly bless our time together. Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. Pray also that the believers there will be willing to accept the donation I am taking to Jerusalem. Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other. And now may God, who gives us his peace, be with you all. Amen.
Romans 15:14-33 NLT
Ambition isn’t bad as long as we are ambitious for the right things. Some people have ambition only for their own goals and gains. Others have very little ambition other than to be comfortable and do what they want. Before writing the masterpiece letter of Romans, Paul had spent many years preaching the Good News from Jerusalem to northern Italy. He had raised up a massive offering from the churches he had planted to help the poor in Jerusalem. Paul had done so much but did not want to slow down. He had the ambition to go to Spain and wanted to visit the Christians in Rome. But he was (unjustly) arrested in Jerusalem and spent four years in jail: two in Caesarea and two in Rome. The Lord fulfilled Paul’s dream to go to Rome in a unique way (God tends to do this). Paul didn’t complain, and he didn’t waste his time in prison: he wrote many letters, poured into those he was mentoring, and strengthened his church plants.
Dream God’s dreams. Have ambition for the things of eternity. This can be in church ministry, time with your family, and the way you do work. Share your faith and have time to listen. Be willing to work hard to see those dreams become a reality. May His Kingdom come!
Do you have enough Kingdom ambition? What are some big Kingdom dreams you have for your life in the next year or two, or beyond?
