Longing for things that are unfamiliar

This morning I started to read Romans, I can already tell this is going to be slow going in that I have 4 bibles, 2 different translations but each has different commentaries on the verses I read as well as a book to help me understand each book in the bible. I chose Romans because it is the most basic in the whole truth of the Gospel. I am just blown away by the things Paul has said and I am only through the first few verses. I have been reading for about two hours and yes only the first few verses but part of that was getting all the back ground of a new book. But really what I want to focus on is the amazing heart Paul had for the people of Rome. Yes he was a Roman citizen and yes he knew many people in Rome, but when the Jews, they believe, came back from Pentecost started a church and allowed the Gentiles to be apart, they received flack from the other Jews who had not yet converted. I just love Paul's heart though because he longed to be with them. He desired for them to know the Gospel and to know the truth. He desired to go to Rome and see the people. He loved them and longed for them, without having even met them. Seems like a weird thing to long for people we don't know. I mean we all know what it is like to long for someone we love, a parent, friend, significant other, and HEAVEN but to long for someone we have never met seems a bit odd. I understand how he felt though, I long for a place even now that isn't my heavenly home, I long for a people who understand what it means to be family without having the same blood running through your veins. A people who understand that Jesus is what makes us family and who love people enough to give what they have away for someone else's comfort. I realize not everyone is like that and that sin can still corrupt even without the prodding of the Western World, but nonetheless I know that God has placed these people specifically in my heart and placed a deep longing to be with them for a special purpose that I may never even understand. I see that Paul in his longing for these people was clear about how he loved them because of who Christ was and how he bound them together in spirit. I love that even though it has been over thousands of years that Paul wrote this letter to the Romans, we can still relate to it and still grasp new truths. Ask God today to show you who you long for that you may not know yet. Is it a husband? A child? A faithful friend? Yes it is possible to long for people you haven't met and yes we all have that longing in us that desires to be filled. Maybe you are trying to fill it with other things. That hole in your heart, that longs for something you may not know, can ONLY be filled with a specific thing has it time. But I challenge you today to ask and seek God if you have that hole in your heart and you aren't sure why. Maybe you need to be open to whatever God is trying to get you to do and know that a lot of times God works outside the box, for OUR benefit and for HIS GLORY!!! I long for Tonga and my foot has never stepped on their soil...what do you long for that is unfamiliar to you?