Take Heed to the Ministry

Say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.

Colossians 4:17

In the letter to Philemon we learn that Archippus was most likely the son of Philemon. He had a certain ministry given to him which he was neglecting, so Paul reminds him to take heed to the ministry or complete the work. No one knows what that ministry was, but the important thing was that he had a ministry, as do all Christians! Here again is a greatly neglected aspect of the church today. We have been taught for so long that when we come to church, the ministers are those who stand up in front and lead the meeting. But that was not the case in the early churches. The ministers are the coaches; the players are those in the pews. They are the ones who have the work of the ministry. Paul says in the letter to the Ephesians that leaders are to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry. You are the ministers. You are the ones responsible to carry on the work. The church does not meet to worship and to learn, period. We meet to worship and to learn in order that we may prepare each believer for his or her ministry. That is what Paul is doing here. He is stirring up this young man to take on the work that God had given him to do. This is a very important truth, one which the devil resists strongly because it is so powerful. When individual Christians begin to recognize that God can and will work through them, they begin to sense new excitement and challenge. Christian life is no longer boring and routine.

How do we discover these ministries which God has given? We find them by responding to a need that is right at our doorstep. You do not have to look for a ministry, it is usually right in front of you — on the bus, in your carpool, with your neighbor next door. Respond to a need. Speak to some lonely person. Open up your home to someone who is homeless. Do a kind deed to some widow on your block who needs help. Have a cup of coffee with somebody. That is how you find the ministry which is given by the Lord himself. If you follow it up you will soon discover that you have an exciting door of opportunity opened to you. Perhaps others can join in with you, and life becomes for all a tremendous adventure of faith. That is what the apostle is talking about here in this letter. That is how the church spread through these three cities and began to affect that whole section of the Roman Empire.

Lord, what is the ministry that you have especially equipped me for? Help me to see what is right in front of me as I respond to needs that come my way. Give me eyes to see what You see and a heart to listen to your promptings.