Colossians 4:12-14

Colossians 4:12-14

Epaphras, a slave of Jesus Christ out of you all, greets you while struggling at all times for your sake in the prayers in order that you all should stand mature and having been made certain in every will of God.  For I testify for him that he has labored greatly for your sake and the sake of the ones in Laodicea and the sake of the ones in Hierapolis.   Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you all.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

We now meet Epaphras.  Epaphras is a name that we are fairly familiar with in the New Testament story of Paul.  We met Epaphras in Colossians 1, where it appears that he might have been one of the ones who first shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the Colossian people in general.  We also hear Paul call Epaphras a “fellow slave” in Philemon 23.  In this passage, we hear that Epaphras is a fellow slave of Jesus Christ.  He prays regularly for the Colossians with respect to their maturity and their continued fellowship with God.  Here is a man who genuinely cares about the faith of the people around him.

Do you have anyone in your life like Epaphras?  Who are the people in your life who remember you in their prayers and who are concerned about your spiritual maturity?

Second Thought:

 More than this, Epaphras is a hard worker.  He toils hard for them.  He is a good role model with respect to working hard for the right reasons rather than for a reward by the people around you.  He is working hard so that the people in Colossae, Laodicea, and Hieropolis can see his example and be inspired by it.

What in Epaphras can you see that is worth imitating?  Who are the hard workers for the kingdom that you see in your life?

Third Thought:

We also hear about Luke the beloved physician and Demas.  Demas is an interesting case.  He is briefly mentioned in Philemon 24, but at no more depth than he is mentioned here.  In 2 Timothy 4:10 we hear that Demas has abandoned the world because of his love for the world.  If we read the lack of positive things Paul has to say, Demas appears to be a man who followed out of curiosity but didn’t have the desire to stay engaged in the faith.  On the other hand, we have the beloved physician Luke.  Here is a man who followed Paul to research Jesus.  In the process, he also becomes the historian tasked with recording the growth of the early church.  He follows Paul with absolute loyalty – even traveling with him to Rome when Paul was a prisoner.  Whereas in Demas we see a man fading away from faith, in Luke we see a man growing in faith and responsibility.  He is loved because of it.

When are you more like Demas?  When are you more like Luke?  How can you continue to grow in faith and loyalty as Luke does?

Passage for Tomorrow: Colossians 4:15-18