…to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.
Summary: Life in the old days was very different. Communication from place to place was slow and fraught with uncertainty. Travel was time-consuming and dangerous.
In this somewhat offhanded verse at the end of Paul’s letter to Titus, he gives us some clues to what life was like in those days.
Titus, remember, is on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean. When Paul’s letter arrives, it must have been before winter. We know from Acts 27 that it was dangerous to sail in the late fall. There still had to be time for Artemus or Tychicus to arrive and for Titus to leave, so it seems reasonable that Paul’s letter arrives in late spring or early summer.
Paul is a man who has adopted the entire known world as his home. He has traveled extensively and lives off what the churches supply him or what he earns making tents. The reason a person chooses to “winter” someplace is that travel becomes difficult or dangerous during the winter.
Did Paul actually spend the winter in Nicopolis? We do not know. This letter to Titus is the only mention we have in the New Testament of the town.
Imagine that you are Titus. You receive Paul’s letter and its instructions about the churches. There is much work to be done. Help is on the way in the form of Artemus or Tychicus, but meanwhile, you have much work to do. The letter is short but valuable. It is packed full of information that should be kept track of.
Titus either copied the letter himself or had others do that. Copies were made. Titus no doubt treasured the original, but perhaps he left it in Crete and kept only a copy himself.
Either way, before the end of summer, he would need to meet up with Artemus or Tychicus and give them a copy of Paul’s letter. Then he would have to find passage on a boat that would allow him to travel north.
Once in Greece, he would have to travel, probably by foot, to Nicopolis. There he would ask around until he found Paul, if Paul had actually ended up there.
There was a great deal of uncertainty in those days. Travel was dangerous, wearisome, and slow. Life was hard by our standards today. Very hard. I hope Titus was able to find Paul.
Application: Accepting the place and time we live in is sometimes easier when we study times past.
Food for Thought: How would your spiritual life be different if you lived as Paul did?
As I read today’s blog I thought about how I still tend to find false comfort in my daily routines. I get a sense of accomplishment when I plan out all the tasks that I have to do and am able to check them off the list as I go. At the end of two weeks I get a paycheck and sometimes feel like I “deserve” a treat for all the hard work I’ve done. Thinking about how my spiritual life would be different if I lived as Paul did I think I would definitely rely less on my own abilities to provide for myself and focus more on the Lords work. As you mentioned in todays blog Paul relied both on the church and tent making, so I’m not suggesting all of the physical labor performed is wasted. I think Paul had a good sense of balance of when it was time to stop making tents though, something I don’t seem to have. Also, when you allow others to help you in your life, as Paul did, you really open the door for true friendship and the ability to worship together. In the end, my spiritual life would be vastly different because I think I would truly depend more on the Lord.
Matthew 6:25-26 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Chris,
Well said! Thank you for sharing your thoughts! 🙂
I am not sure it would be any different if I did not have the heart for the Lord that Paul had. Life was hard for all people back then, but not many appeared to have a strong faith. Circumstances can reveal what is in a heart, but does not necessarily change a heart. That is the Holy Spirit’s work. Titus 3: 4 – 8.
Possibly you are already living as Paul did?
How would your spiritual life be different if you lived as Paul did?
First, to understand God, I had to accept the fact that I will never understand Him, and accept Him through Christ in faith. When we open our eyes….. take time to observe the works of God, rather than the works of men, we begin to comprehend our incomprehensible God who has chosen to reveal Himself in all His creation.
Job 12:7-10, Psalm 19:1-4,148:1-10, Romans 1:20, 11:23
Our Bible, the Word of God, and will increase our understanding as we see the attributes He has chosen to reveal. These teach us He is Infinite, outside the boundaries of time. He is Unchangeable, does not and will not ever change. His truths are eternal. And He is everywhere, there is nowhere we can go that God is not there. Everything God was in Pauls time, He is today.
Colossians 1:17, Malachi 3:6, Psalm 139:7, 102:25-27,
Hebrews 13:8, Malachi 3:6, Luke 21:33
God is Three Persons in One. The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit and the believers in Pauls time would have had the Holy Spirit to open their hearts to the truths being taught. The advantage we have today is the entire word of God has been preserved by God and is available to all today. If anything, we are blessed by having greater revelation of the truth than the people of Pauls day.
John 14:16–17, 26; 16:7, Matthew 3:16-17
Ron,
I appreciate your focus on the mystery of God. There is a great benefit to living in a state of awe before the Great Almighty.