Summary
If we are ever tempted to question if our faith really matters or changes anything in this dark world of ours, we ought to remember that the witness of our faith is always shining, whether we see its full effects or not.
Content
In Romans 1:8, Paul’s statement directly implies that the faith of the Roman church had spread all the way across the Mediterranean. Consider for a moment that Paul had not yet personally met these people (compare verses 10-13) at the time when he was penning this letter; he likely didn’t have personal relationships with people in Rome that would give him an insider’s view into the faith of the church there. Yet he was aware of their faith even so.
That must have been quite the witness they had! (Especially, one might note, given the relatively lesser interconnectedness of peoples in antiquity, compared to today. Today, widespread literacy, effective mail delivery, telephones, and of course the internet can keep us connected to each at all times, but back then none of this was the case). So if we are ever tempted to question if our faith really matters or changes anything in this dark world of ours, we ought to remember that the witness of our faith is always shining, whether we see its full effects or not. And so it is that we ought not lose hope generally, despair of reaching the lost, or feel down for failing to directly/personally encourage a large number of brothers and sisters in the Church. Just because we don’t personally know all the ways our faith shines light into the lives of others does not mean that our faith is not impactful!
After all, we are but tools in the hands of the Master Craftsman, and He knows very well what He is doing. We just need to be pleased to trust in Him and do what He tells us to—which is to learn His truth by reading the Bible and listening to gifted and prepared Bible teachers, apply it to our lives under the pressures of life down here in Satan’s world system, and then help others do likewise (by utilizing the spiritual gifts and ministries that God has given to us individually).