Today’s Scripture: Colossians 1:3, NIV- “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,”
Paul and Timothy wrote to let the people of Colossae to recognize their faithfulness in Christ Jesus and the love they had for all God’s people. In Colossians 1:5, the NIV version, mentions that these people had faith and love that sprang out from the hope stored up for them in heaven.
How did you learn of the hope stored up for you in heaven from the gospel of Jesus Christ. What springs forth from us? Thanking God is a wonderful place to start every prayer and every day. Who do you thank God for? Do you remember to thank God for those who invested in you so you would know the grace of God? Who will you invest your hope in?
We have all heard of Paul, who wrote a quarter of the new testament. But how many of us recall Epaphras that Paul credits for the people of Colossae hearing the gospel? A quick search of gotquestions.org tells us “Epaphras is mentioned three times in the New Testament, twice in Colossians and once in Philemon. He was a believer in Christ who served with the apostle Paul, who referred to him as a “fellow servant,” “faithful minister,” and “servant of Christ Jesus” (Colossians 1:7; 4:12).”
I little further research indicates that Paul most likely never went to Colossae himself. He was writing to these people from his first imprisonment in Rome based on what Epaphras told him as he visited him in prison. This same website states that Epaphras had been imprisoned while in Rome visiting Paul. “Tradition teaches that Epaphras eventually returned to Colossae where he remained a faithful servant of Christ and was later martyred. But those details are not found in the Bible.”
We will not be found in the bible either, yet we can help support those who bring the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we can share the Good News as well. We all have those to thank who came before us. Hopefully, we can all teach others of the hope stored up for them in heaven.
No one needs to know our name. We only need to point to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love our Father in heaven has for each of us. I always thank God when I pray for you as well. My prayer now is that we carry the love in the Spirit as Paul thanked God for. We must only carry our love in the Spirit of God.
As Paul prayed in Colossians 1:9-12, we can pray. “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.” (NIV)
Regardless of who we pray for and regardless of whether anyone remembers our name, let us always thank God for the movement of His Spirit that spreads the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Who are you thanking God for today?
Today’s Prayer: Heavenly Father, I am always thankful for You and Your servants. Thank You LORD for the hope stored up for us in heaven. I am thankful for Your Holy Spirit of love that spreads the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am thankful for fellow believers and for the new believers who come to faith in You. In the thanksgiving and grace of Jesus Christ we do pray. Amen.
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