On the road…literally

The apostle Paul was on the road…a lot. He was born in Tarsus (in southern Türkiye) and had traveled to Jerusalem to study under Gamaliel. This distance would have been around 600 miles, and he certainly didn’t get there by plane! Paul continued traveling large distances while persecuting Christians across Palestine. And, fittingly, it was on a road to Damascus where Jesus called him. Following this call, he traveled back to Jerusalem with Barnabas. From there he went to Antioch. After all that, God called him to the work of spreading the gospel (Acts 13:2). This took him throughout Asia Minor and back again…only to leave again on a 2nd journey shortly thereafter. That is a lot of time on the road!

It was on this second missionary journey that Paul came to the seaside city of Troas. He got there by land and was going to continue by land throughout what is now northern Türkiye…except God had a different plan. He gave Paul a vision of a man from Macedonia asking for help (Acts 16:9). It is hard to imagine how groundbreaking this moment was. For the first recorded time in history, an apostle of Jesus Christ was going to Europe. From that moment of obedience churches were planted in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Corinth…and many more!

I was reminded of this moment of obedience recently when I stood on a road that Paul himself most likely took. The picture above is one I took of my feet standing on an excavated Roman road leading away from the city center of Troas down to the port where the ships were docked. It is a road that the apostle Paul almost certainly walked upon. Here is the road by itself.

Standing here reminded me of the impact that obedience can have. Paul was told to go, so he hit the road! Though God doesn’t speak to us in visions anymore after the completion of his Word, we still have ample opportunity for simple obedience. The Lord instructed us to “Go therefore into all the world and make disciples of every nation” (Matthew 28:19). How do we know the impact that we can have if we would only obey that command? Well, we’d find out after we have obeyed and made disciples wherever the Lord took us. That’s what Paul did. Sitting in Antioch, he had no idea how God would use him. It was only after his obedience that he could he look back and say, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Like Paul, I want us to hit the road of obedience. There is a world full of people that need Jesus. Some of them live in other countries, some live next door, and some may even reside in your own house. Wherever you are, walk that road. Then, when you reach the end, you can hear the same words Paul certainly did, “Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.” Paul ended his travels well through obedience. Are you on the road to that same destination?

Here are a couple more pictures:

This is the harbor of Troas where Paul would have boarded the ship to Macedonia. The white part on the left is the harbor that he would have used. Today, the waters of the Aegean sit a little further out. Thus, the small, rectangular harbor is completely dry and visible.

Here is a picture of the beautiful Aegean with some stones the Romans used to build the harbor left askew in the surf.

Sarah and I are smiling for a selfie in the agora of Troas. I love sharing this journey with her! And, yes, I know my shirt is really cool! 😉