Friends, Romans, Countrymen...

In Ephesians 6, Paul asks for prayer, and in verse 19, we read that he's asking the people of Ephesus to...
for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

With the anticipation building toward Super Bowl 46, that's XLVI - the use of Roman numerals to designate each game has drawn some attention.   Mike Tanier of the New York Times has written:

Indianapolis has not just been invaded, but annexed...In Monument Circle, the center of downtown, 20-foot-high Roman numerals on a 7-foot riser dwarf the passing cars and obscure the Indiana Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument from street view. The N.F.L.’s fascination with Roman numerals is one of the league’s most bombastic traits, but the commitment to classical pretense pays off when the league builds on an epic scale. Park a giant “46” in the middle of a city, and passers-by scratch their heads. Erect a hulking “XLVI” into town central, and watch everyone stop to take pictures in front of it.

The fascination with these numerals actually resulted in a story with the headline, "Roman numerals are Greek to kids", pointing out that today's students might know LOL or OMG, but XLVI would be a stretch.

Roman numerals are definitely a throwback - you can see them inscribed on various historical buildings and monuments in the U.S., and they are a reminder of a massive empire that ruled when Jesus Christ was born.   The New Testament was written against the backdrop of the grandeur and brutality of the Roman Empire.   And, we acknowledge the the Bible shows us how to interact with God, with people, and with the culture at large.

We can choose to allow the culture to unduly influence us, or we can seek to make a mark on the culture, as Paul did in the tug-of-war that he had with citizens and with authorities.  He saw himself as an "ambassador in chains" - he was called to challenge and impact the culture as an ambassador, but he was subservient to the authority of the state, and imprisoned, which by no means diminished his effectiveness, since he wrote a significant portion of the New Testament from prison.   Rather than allowing culture and authority to crush him, he used the opportunities that God gave him to effectively communicate truth.  

Recognizing the cultural context of God's Word can help us to identify with and understand some of the challenges facing the writers of the Bible, and can by a tool the Holy Spirit uses to enable us to more effectively apply His truth.   To me, the attention given to Roman numerals has caused me to think about how Paul dealt with the culture, and can provide direction for us.