Title Faithful Worker
Contents
Hymn: 355 "This Body Out of the Call"
Meditation: The saints that God really wants are not those who are successful in the world, but faithful workers through whom Jesus Christ can work.
Confession of Faith: Apostles' Creed
Text: Colossians 4:7-9
Word: When Paul was imprisoned while preaching the gospel, the Colossians who lost their leaders lost their focus and began to shake. Paul sent Tychicus and Onesimus, God's faithful workers, to strengthen the faith of the faltering Colossians. Who were these two people?
Tychicus was a prisoner who had been imprisoned in a Roman prison, and Onesimus was originally a slave to Philemon, a man who stole his master's property and fled far away to Rome. He met Paul in Rome, accepted the Lord, became a Christian, and volunteered to serve Paul in prison. Although Paul was a Gentile, a slave, and a fugitive, Paul was not ashamed of Onesimus, but loved him as a son born in prison. He even praised him for being a faithful man and a dear brother.
In the eyes of ordinary people, these were people who could not be chosen as workers. But God chose them and made them His servants. This is because God does not look at conditions when choosing people. We can't help but be moved because God chose us not because we were good, but because of God's grace.
Onesimus is by no means a reliable person in the world. Because he was a thief and a fugitive. But God chose him to be faithful. It is because they have been transformed into faithful workers who believe in God and risk their lives to obey God's commands. People look at the past and outward appearance, but God looks at the heart of the present. Like Onesimus, when we risk our lives and obey the God-given office, we will be recognized as “faithful” by God.
Dear brothers and sisters, when we stand before the Lord on the last day, the Lord sees not our physical success, but whether we were faithful servants of God. I hope you value your mission more than the world's work. The life of a faithful worker requires many hardships and sacrifices. However, just as there is the glory of resurrection after suffering on the cross, eternal heaven and reward await faithful workers of God. I pray in the name of the Lord that all of you will be used as God's faithful workers.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to be a faithful worker who can be praised for doing well when I stand before you on the last day. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Lord's Prayer