Colossians 4:12-13 -“Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.”

Epaphras is shown here as someone who had this Spirit-given love for the Colossians. The source of this care and love comes from the fact that Epaphras was one of them. Surely this sense of belonging was due to the fact that Epaphras was himself from Colossae, hence the source of connection and devotion. However, the deeper reason for Epaphras being referred to as ‘one of you’, stems from the Spirit given love, bond, and belonging to one another. This is the reality that we see presented throughout the Pauline letters, where he addresses fellow Christians as brothers and sisters, and having the same Father in God (Col 1, Eph 1).  This is what bound Epaphras to the Colossian church, where their blessing and wellbeing was Epaphras’ concern and care. This was also the concern and love that Sundar Singh burned with for the people of India and Tibet.

Today, as we continue to devote our lives to prayer, let’s pray for those in our ministries, for their blessing is our blessing.  Their joy is our joy.  Their burden is our burden.

-GK