Acts 28:30, 31 
Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house. And he welcomed all who visited him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. (CSB)

Paul lived for two years in his rented house. He welcomed everyone who came to visit. He urgently presented all matters of the kingdom of God. He explained everything about Jesus Christ. His door was always open. (MSG)

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I love travel. I enjoy planning trips. I like booking hotels, rental cars, and excursions. I like traveling for business and for pleasure. This time last year, my bride and I combined business and pleasure to see places we never thought possible. Spend a few minutes ten feet from a male lion in the wild? Yes, please.

Travel introduces us to the world and us to ourselves. We see ourselves differently when we are placed in new surroundings with new languages, new sights, new sounds, and new food. 

We awoke one morning in Cape Town, South Africa, to the sound of metallic grinding and an unusual horn as the commuter train slowly rolled past our hotel. We began a day in Braemar, Scotland, near Balmoral Castle greeted by a heavy mist and fog like something out of a novel.

I was stopped in my tracks by a nearly life-size painting of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Jesus down from the cross. Martha was reach up to help lower him to the ground. Mary was kneeling at the feet of Jesus. Our guide was taking us to see Michelangelo’s David, but I was stuck in the moment captured by two different artists on one canvas. 

Stop me before I start flipping through the photos on my phone. 

Paul was a traveling’ man. Round round get around, he got around. He knew the Mediterranean world as well as any man of his age. He knew the highways and byways, the shipping lanes, and the out-of-the-way places only God could direct him. 

Verse 14 in this chapter says so much more than the last six words express: “And so we came to Rome.” Paul’s ambition had been to make it there, because if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Rome was the hub from which the spokes extended where he had visited. He wanted to take the Good News of Jesus to the heart of the empire. And he did.

For two whole years, Luke tells us, “He explained everything about Jesus Christ. His door was always open.” 

Travelers love open doors, open roads, open seas, and open skies. They also love going home. Home is familiar and comfortable. Our bed and pillow sleep so much better than those we visit. Our access to our pantry is an additional luxury. 

In Rome, Paul had the best of both worlds. He marked off his next-to-last travel ambition. He had one more trip planned, this one to Spain. He was at home in Rome. He received friends. He taught emerging and seasoned leaders. He wrote letters to friends and acquaintances around the Mediterranean world.

This travelin’ man went places and did things. His travels shape our lives to this day. Only eternity will tell the full impact of all he said, did, and wrote. 

Where are you bound today? Who will you see? What will you do? Where is God sending you to carry his light and his love? How will your journey shape the world today and the world to come?

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I will travel with Jesus wherever he leads and wherever he sends.

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