Priscilla

Priscilla is one of my favorite Bible characters. We don’t know a lot about Priscilla (also called Prisca), but what we do know leads me to believe that she really loved the church.  One interesting thing to note is that she and her husband, Aquila, are always mentioned together.  In Acts 18:1-3 we are told that Priscilla and Aquila allowed Paul to live and work with them when he had first come to Corinth.  Paul was well known for his persecution of the church in the early days, so this hospitality and openness from Aquila and Priscilla is truly something to take note of. This friendship grew to the point that Aquila and Priscilla willingly risked their lives for Paul. We don’t know what it was exactly that they did, but Paul thanked them for it in Romans 16:3-4. It is not often that we would risk our life for acquaintances but for the friends we love the most we would.  Also, when Paul chose to sail to Syria, Aquila and Priscilla chose to travel with him. Once in Ephesus however, Aquila and Priscilla stayed behind, while Paul traveled on to Jerusalem and back. While in Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla did what they could to grow and encourage the church. We are told in Acts 18: 24-28 that they met a bold and fervent man named Apollos who spoke only of John’s baptism.  Aquila and Priscilla “took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” They didn’t debate him or publically humiliate him, they lovingly and gently took him aside and corrected him. And Apollos went on to firmly stand for the church and teach for the Lord.  We know they made other efforts to encourage, grow, and serve the church because in Romans 16: 5 Paul sends his greetings to Aquila and Priscilla and “the church that is in their house”. They are opening their home so that the church would have a place to gather. We don’t exactly know what they gathered for or how often but we can speculate that it was for worship, Bible study and probably meals and other events.  We also know Aquila and Priscilla, and the church that was in their house had concern for the church in other cities because in 1 Corinthians 16:19 they sent their greetings through Paul back to the church in Corinth. Which means we could also infer that while they lived in Corinth they had been very involved with the church and did what they could to help Paul grow the church there. Paul ultimately calls them “my fellow workers in Christ Jesus.” Romans 16:3

So we can see that Priscilla loved a missionary enough to be open to him in spite of his past, host him in her home, and risked her life in defending him and the Faith. She loved individual souls enough to teach them gently and encourage them to be bold for the Faith.  And she loved the church enough to open her home to them at the very  least on a weekly basis, if not a daily basis. And she didn’t just love those near her but those far away as well.

The question for us today is how can we be more like Priscilla? Can we serve more faithfully beside our husbands? Can we be more encouraging to our missionaries? Can we be more active in teaching others with gentleness and love? Can we more often bring the church into our homes?  No matter who we are or what stage of life we are in, couldn’t we all be more like Priscilla? May you be blessed with the energy and zeal to serve as Priscilla did.