The 16th chapter of Romans is no insignificant relic of the past; names that are easier to forget than they are difficult to pronounce! No, it is a chapter of the future not the past, a testimony that what matters most in this life is not our possessions or positions but our friendships which is all of this life that will remain and pass into eternity.
What we have here my precious friends is no mere list of names but a testimony of what God does in lives that will last forever. A quick peek into the “Family Album” which is a true representation of heaven as we gather around the throne of God Who alone has made our enduring love and friendship possible.
Behind every name is a story and the ones listed here would make up a “love story” as these are all folks that God loved and loved God. The story is in their transformation and how God was now using them to love others in making new friends. Many of these names and their stories will have to wait as we don’t know much of them but we will one day.
Of the 24 specific names mentioned six are women which is interesting concerning the fact Paul is often maligned for what many perceive as his disregard for women in authority. I suggest that if you want to know what Paul thought of women you only need to read this chapter to see that he valued them as equals in serving Jesus and verbally shows his appreciation for all they do. Three times (verses 6, 12) Paul says that these ladies “labored” and he chooses a word in the Greek that means “to work to the point of exhaustion”. Two of these names mean “dainty” and “delicate” but Paul says that these two aristocrats had developed a habit in Christ of working until they just couldn’t do another thing.
Of those 24 specific names 13 occur in inscriptions on official documents in the Emperor’s palace in Rome. This is interesting because of what Paul wrote in Philip. 4:22 that, “All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household.” Christianity had penetrated the imperial palace of the world empire in less than 70 years and it had done so on the back of friendship.