Missed part two? Read it here.
Priscilla looked over the sea. The same God who made the sea and all the creatures in it; the world and all the people in it, came to die for her sins and now dwelt in her! Her heart swelled with thanksgiving.
“What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”
She did not notice Aquila until he was close, covering her with a blanket.
“I’m just in awe of Jesus.”
“I know what you mean.”
“I do have a question for you. You said you were going to tell me how you got the money for the entire trip once we were on board.”
Priscilla smiled shyly, putting her hand on her neck.
You sold your mother’s necklace. It’s been in your family for decades!
“And now, my gift will outlive me for generations.”
“Oh Pris, I’m not saying you didn’t do the right thing. But I guess there is a part of me that wants to spoil my wife sometimes, and when you’re giving away everything, it just…”
“I still have this,” she said, showing off the bracelet he gave her shortly after they got saved.
Aquila smiled, teary eyed.
“I was my promise to you that I would love you as Christ loved the church.”
He leaned in to kiss her.
“I hope I’m not interrupting .”
It was Gaius, another brother in Christ who was traveling with them.
“Paul says to come quickly. There seems to be a change in plans.”
***
Priscilla and Aquila had spent all morning preaching to those in their new neighbourhood. Sometimes, one-on-one, some other times, in small groups.
Paul felt led for them to stay in Ephesus and they were all too willing.
Now they sat in front of the synagogue, speaking to a young Jewish family who had come to worship.
It was not yet time for worship, but people seemed to be gathering in large numbers inside the synagogue.
They rushed to see what was going on.
A rich velvety voice seemed to captivate the entire audience.
“We must repent and be baptized, because Jesus the messiah has come!”
Priscilla and Aquila were amazed at this young man. He spoke with such confidence and eloquence. Even the Pharisees and Sadducees listened quietly. But there was something missing…
“He spoke only of the baptism of John.” Whispered Priscilla to her husband
“I think we should tell him about the baptism of the Holy Spirit,” replied Aquila.
“We must, no new testament ministry can be complete without the power of the Holy Spirit,”
added Priscilla.
So they sought out the man-people said his name was Appollos and explained things more accurately to him.
***
“Timothy, wake up, there is another letter.”
Timothy jumped from his place near the candle light. He had been studying all through the night, the demands of pastoring weighing heavily on his shoulders.
“What does it say?” He asked Aquila.
“I haven’t opened it, it’s addressed to you.”
Paul had been imprisoned in Rome for a while now and everyone in Ephesus was anxious to hear any news from him.
It seemed everyone was more anxious than Paul.
“To live is Christ, to die is gain” he would say. And he meant it.
Timothy opened the scrolls.
More people trooped in the see what Paul’s newest letter said.
Let’s read it in the worship hall, said Timothy.
It was a lengthy letter, but no one interrupted as Timothy read the letter.
It sounded very much like Paul, reminding to hold fast to firm words. They was bad news too, Phygellus and Hermogenes had abandoned him.
Priscilla wasn’t surprised, there had always been something about those two that never sat well with her.
“If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us.” He said
Priscilla and Aquila listened as Paul urged them to the word in season and out of season, whether or not it was the popular thing. It seemed to everyone present that that could be the last time they would hear from Paul.
“I am ready, my life is an offering on God’s altar. I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith, I have finished the race, there is a treasure waiting for me in heaven. Not just for me, but for everyone who just can’t wait to see Jesus.”
Tears flowed from Priscilla’s eyes like heavy stones off a sloppy mountain. Aquila wiped them off.
“We do not cry like those without hope,” he said. She held her husband tightly, listening to his heartbeat as Timothy read on.
“Greet Priscilla and Aquila,” Paul had said as he ended the letter.
Priscilla cried some more.
“Pris, I know you’re upset, but the younger women are watching. We should let them be discouraged” Aquila whispered.
“You misunderstand me my love. These are tears of joy. Once my life was only about the jewellery I had, or the clothes I would wear. But now it counts for something. When we left Italy, I thought I was being brought down. All my hopes, in just one carriage. I didn’t know that the God of all flesh was orchestrating my life-our lives to the praise of His name. Now, no matter what comes Quil, our hope is beyond this life.”

THE END

Thanks for reading Priscilla and Aquila. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Not many couples are mentioned in the NT testament, but Priscilla and Aquila are example enough. Paul commends them several times for their faith and service to the cause of the gospel. He mentions both their names all the time as if to give us a picture of their team work. That, dear Christian is what we should emulate. Building families that are Christ-centred for Christ’s sake.
Aquila also inspires me as a woman in ministry. She and her husband taught Apollos in. While in Corinth, a church met in their house. Wow. It’s not easy to have a few guests over every weekend, and that’s nothing compared to a regular church meeting in your house, some of the brethren probably living there.
That’s another Blogpost altogether, but when it all comes down to it. You see this relationship and you see Christ. That’s what I want. That’s how it should be.