Colossians 4 DT 5.14.09 by Kelly Kang (Gracepoint Fellowship Church – Berkeley)

Colossians 4:7-15

7Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
10My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 12Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.

I was reflecting on the various words that Apostle Paul uses to describe various people in his life – “dear brother,” “faithful minister,” “faithful and dear brother,” “fellow workers for the kingdom of God, “ “servant of Christ Jesus.”  I thought about all the people within the Gracepoint Family as well as those outside of our church that I have a personal relationship with who fit these descriptions.  As I spent time thanking God for them, I thought about the different ways that they encourage, challenge and inspire me as a fellow kingdom worker.

There are brothers and sisters  who have been with me through thick and thin for about 20 years now.  They have proven to be faithful and dear friend and fellow ministers.  I have seen them grow through the years to take on greater roles in the kingdoms of God, some of them in various difficult ministries with not much fruit and recognition but who inspire me with their steadfastness.

There are brothers and sisters that I’ve had the privilege of ministering to who have had addictions, deeply entrenched sins and past baggage who have been transformed by the power of the Gospel and are now ministering to other broken people.

There are new brothers and sisters in the LORD who are exercising big steps of faith in the area of finances, career, future, etc.  They challenge me to continue to push through my fears and grow in my faith.

There are brothers and sisters who are facing all kinds of setbacks and difficulties but refusing to buckle to discouragement and cynicism.

There are many younger brothers and sisters who are bi-vocational ministers who are using pretty much all of their free time to share Christ’s love with others.

There are older brothers and sisters in the LORD that I have met in recent years who have proven to be a huge source of comfort and encouragement as they pray for me and encourage me to keep pressing on doing the things that we are doing as a ministry.  There are some who cheer us on from different parts of the world.

The list goes on and on.

As I have been the recipient of this kind of encouragement, challenge and inspiration, I see the responsibility that I bear to reciprocate.  I, too, need to be a dear sister, faithful minister, fellow worker for his kingdom, servant of Christ Jesus, dear friend to other brothers and sisters in the LORD.  This is a responsibility and an obligation that I gladly accept with a sense of privilege.

Lord, thank you for the many people you have filled my life with who fit these wonderful descriptions.  LORD, help me to be faithful to them by being faithful to you.