Pompeii

Today, was our first full day in Rome! Accompanied by our lovely and knowledgeable new Italian guide, Laura Donna, we spared no time and left the hotel at 7:30am sharp. The 3 hour bus ride was broken up with a gem of a gas station, which offered coffee and interesting/tasty victuals.

Upon arrival, the enormity, sophistication and precision of which Pompeii has been preserved was not only incredibly stunning but also wholly unexpected. After Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, volcanic ash covered the city and encapsulated it in a moment in time leaving many structures in almost perfect condition to view. We were easily able to envision a day in the life by walking through the cities main square through paved city streets lined with homes, shops, bakeries, bath houses, water fountains and even brothels. From our Pompei tour guide Erica, were able to learn more of the harrowing and seemingly common licentious lifestyle of the Roman world. Having just visited Ephesus and Corinth in the last two days and learning of the excesses of the Roman world, this adds additional color to the words of Paul about purity and holy design for sexuality in his epistles to the believers in those cities helping us to understand the context and challenges those believers faced when trying to apply the gospel to their daily lives and honor our Lord Jesus. As we process what we saw, our hope and is that we reflect upon the depravity of our own hearts apart from Christ and rejoice that by the grace of God alone, we have been raised to new life by the sufficient sacrifice of Christ’s death at Calvary and by the power of the Holy Spirit which enables us to live lives that are set apart in own time and culture.

Peter, Caitlin and David.