Thursday, February 02, 2006

People Who Care

"Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God" (Col 4:12).

Epaphras was a bondservant of Christ. And he was a man of prayer. Obviously, Epaphras cared deeply for the wellfare of the Colossians. Paul said that he always labored fervently in prayer, praying that the Colossians would be able to stand "perfect and complete" in all of God's will.

There weren't many people like Epaphras who cared deeply for others. Specifically, he cared for the spiritual well-being of others.

Another man who comes to mind is Timothy. About him Paul said, "I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ" (Phil 2:20-21). This is a sad commentary about the cares of others, but a great testimony of the love of God inside of Timothy.

Similarly, today there are not many who take a genuine interest in the spiritual well-being of others. Each person has their own cares of life that they are busy attending to. The call for us is to be a people who care for one another and will "go the extra mile" to help each other grow. The body of Christ grows as EACH ONE does it's part (Ephesians 4:16). Sometimes it is harder than we realize to truly put our own interests aside and invest ourselves in the lives of others.

You don't have to be a "preacher"; you just have to CARE.

"My house remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house" (Haggai 1:9).

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Amen!!!