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Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Working for Christ

"because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me."

– Philippians 2:30

Exposition:

        According to what is revealed in the book of Philippians, one of the principal ways how Epaphroditus laboured for the work of Christ is his service toward Apostle Paul (Phil. 2:25, 30). He brought gifts from Philippi to Rome, where Paul was imprisoned (Phil.4:15, 18; 1:13). We may be tempted to think delivering a gift was not a big deal, well, there were no aeroplanes those days, the journey alone must have been a hard one. Furthermore, Apostle Paul wrote about him quite favourably contrary to what he thought of a man like Demas.

        Epaphroditus could have done a lot of things for the furtherance of the Gospel, but what we know for certain is his service to Paul, and in doing so, he even got sick almost unto death (Phil. 2:27). The work of Christ, we are called to do, is not only to proclaim the Gospel to those who are lost. In fact, God has given the church gifted people to proclaim His words to the unreached, and not many of us are called to do this. Each one of us is given a gift from Christ for His work. We have to use our gift diligently and joyfully. Any work we do in the ministry for the edification of the body of Christ is a legitimate work for Christ.

        Are you accompanying a fiery preacher in a revival? Are you attending the needs of a sick brother at home or in a hospital? Are you raising funds for the cause of ministry? Are you sweeping the floor of a church? Are those not for the work of Christ? We have seen it from Epaphroditus.

Personal Reflection:

·       Am I delighted with any work of the ministry as much as in preaching God's word to a lost sinner?

·       Am I treating every worker of the ministry as a specialist (masterpiece) of God?

Personal Commitment:

·       I must practice not only to appreciate all kind of works in a ministry but also to delight in any work I come across.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to do my work to please You, and not to please the eyes of man, Amen!