The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
—Matthew 9:37
The apostle Paul wanted to visit his brothers and sisters in Rome, but God put that trip on hold, so he wrote them a letter. But there was a logistical challenge: there was no USPS, UPS, or FedEx—and Paul was in Corinth, 1,500 miles from Rome. How would he get his letter to them?
Well, a lady named Phoebe stepped up and volunteered to take the letter to Rome. It was a gutsy offer; the trip was arduous and dangerous. But off she went, with history’s most important theological document tucked under her robe.
It’s possible that the church in Rome would never have received Paul’s letter—and that you wouldn’t have it in your Bible—were it not for Phoebe.
“Volunteer” is a word without
meaning until defined by action.