She has been a great help to
many people, including me.
—Romans 16:2
In her book Medieval People, Eileen Power describes a Genoese sea captain sitting on a pier near his ship, reading Marco Polo’s Travels. The captain regretted that Marco Polo had explored the Orient before he was born, wishing he could have been the one who had done it.
Polo had gone east—perhaps the captain should go west: there must be something beyond the Atlantic. You know the rest of the story. Eileen Power sums it up nicely: “Marco Polo discovered China when he was alive, and, after he was dead, discovered America.” Polo couldn’t discover America, but he inspired Columbus to do it.
The apostle Paul frequently mentioned helpful people who were incapable of apostolic achievement but stepped up and made his travels and triumphs possible.
Help others do what you can’t.