What would we think of a message that came from an inmate? How would we respond if those greetings were from someone for whom we cared deeply? Today we consider the beginning of the final benediction from Paul the apostle to Philemon, and if we look closely, we may find our own sympathies along the way. Paul wrote in verse twenty-three:
There salute you Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus;
Paul begins his conclusion to this fantastic book with salutations from “Epaphras” which means “lovely”. Epaphras was the minister or perhaps an evangelist to the church in Colossee. If we recall from an earlier study, Philemon and Onesimus were from the Colossee area. We first read of Epaphras in the book of Colossians where Paul the apostle wrote:
As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; Colossians 1:7
In this passage of scripture Paul calls Epaphras “our dear fellowservant”, and in our verse in Philemon he calls him “my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus”. Quite possibly Epaphras aligned himself with Paul as an evangelist of the gospel and landed in the same prison as Paul. Paul also mentions Epaphras later in the book of Colossians where he wrote:
Epaphras, who is [one] of you, a servant of Christ, salutes you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. Colossians 4:12
Epaphras was not only “one of” them but also “a servant of Christ” to the people of Colossee. He was a man who labored fervently in prayers for them. What a joy it is to know that people are praying for us, and let's consider what he was praying, “that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” Now that is a great prayer for the people for whom Epaphras loved. No wonder Paul felt so strongly as to include Epaphras in his closing remarks to Philemon.
If we were to hear greetings from someone who was incarcerated, when we go beyond our yearning for their release, wouldn't it be wonderful to know that they were praying for us? Wouldn't it be special to know that their interests while being in prison was to serve us through intercessions to God on our behalf? Perhaps today we feel that we are in prison in some manner. Maybe it's a certain job, position, or situation. It could be that there are extenuating circumstances for which we were only doing what is right like Paul and Epaphras, and now we are paying a price for them. It might be that we were passed over for a well-deserved promotion, and now someone else has the job we desired. Whatever the situation may be, we make a choice. We can be as Paul and Epaphras who were imprisoned for doing the most righteous of acts and intercede and pray for others, or we can be miserable complainers who never move beyond what happened to us. May we all heed the lesson of Paul and Epaphras as we consider our positions today, and may we continue to be used by Jesus Christ no matter what our circumstances may be.
Next time we will consider a few more of the fellow-laborers who were with Paul, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
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