The Roman Forum

The Roman Forum has been called the most celebrated meeting place in history. By the time the Apostle Paul arrived in Rome, the forum had developed from an open-air market bounded by legal buildings to a center of pagan worship and the site of triumphal processions for military victors. Virtually everything apart from the one true God was worshiped here: business, law, government, gods, commerce. Now, those powers once celebrated here are ruins, a testament to a time gone by. This is what happens to humanity’s best ideas apart from God.

While here, look for these three spots:

Temple of Saturn: Home of Rome’s treasury, funded in part by a tax on freed slaves. Think about it, freed slaves had to pay for the privilege of their freedom. But with Jesus, there is no tax. “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”—John 8:36. God’s forgiveness is free.

Curia Julia (Senate House): The center of political life in Rome, where society-shaping decisions were made. But God’s authority is greater than humanity’s.
“Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.—Daniel 2:20-21

Temple of Vesta: Dedicated to the goddess of the hearth, this temple was tended by priestesses who had to work to meet incredibly high standards of purity. Not so with those who call Jesus their Lord. He did the work for us, making us pure in God’s eyes. Reflect on 1 John 1:9,
“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness.”