“And say to Archippus, ‘See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.’” Colossians 4:17
Sometimes I have a hard time finishing a task. I make a list of everything I have to do and get distracted doing all the little things to avoid completing the most important and time-sensitive task on the list. This is common among Enneagram 3s. At least, that’s what I hear. I put off the main project to accomplish all the smaller projects which are not as important but more in number. Perfecting my purpose can be a struggle. I hope I am not the only one with this struggle.
In his letter to the Colossian church, Paul charges Archippus to focus on the ministry God gave him. Being a leader in the church at Philemon’s house in Colosse, Archippus seems to have a lot of influence but needs focus (Philemon 1:2-3).
Archippus may have been a lot like me. Maybe he was focused on all the smaller ministries rather than completing the main ministry God had called him to complete. Maybe it was a harder ministry, or he was discouraged. Maybe he was busy assisting in several ministries rather than taking responsibility of the ministry God had specifically given to him.
I often find myself helping out with several ministries rather than completing the ministry God has called me to directly. Maybe this is you too. It can be hard to find your place.
Here’s a few things I see with Archippus.
He knew Christ as his Savior.
The same goes for us. If we want to fulfill our ministry, we have to know Christ as our Savior. We have an opportunity to have a relationship God through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Rather than living under the guilt and penalty of sin, we are able to be forgiven from the things we have done wrong, the things that displease God. Romans 5:8 says, “…God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ died for us so that we could have peace with God. All we must do is believe and accept His gift. Romans 10:9 says, “…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” We must, first, know Christ has our Savior.
Because of the relationship he had God, Archippus wanted to serve Him.
Paul instructs Archippus to find the purpose and ministry God gave him.
Similarly to the English Standard Bible saying “see,” The King James Bible and New American Standard Bible say to “take heed,” and the Christian Standard Bible uses the words “pay attention.” The Greek word for these means “to look at” and “discern.” Paul challenges Archippus to “discern” the specific ministry he received from God.
Just like Archippus, God has given each of us a ministry. We need to figure out what it is. Some ways we can do this is to ask God through prayer, study His Word, apply God’s Word to our lives, discover our spiritual gifts and what we get energy from doing, seek godly counsel, and begin serving somewhere. Somewhere leads us somewhere. But in starting, God will show us the work He picked out for us to complete (Ephesians 2:10). In order to complete our ministry, we must find out what God has given us to do.
Finally, Paul tells Archippus to perfect that purpose and ministry.
He tells him to work diligently to complete it. Similarly, in order to fulfill our ministry, we must be focused. We have be determined and have a strong will to fulfill it.
In the fall, I attended a local high school football game. Two rival teams were playing. They were evenly matched and were within a touchdown of each other for most of the game. These games are my favorite because of the intensity of each quarter. The fans section becomes the field for the moms biting their lips in stress, the dads criticizing every player but their own, the student celebrating the good plays and booing the bad calls, and the faithful grandpas sitting because they just love a good Friday night ball game. The crowd is constantly cheering with their shouts, pompoms, and cow bells.
In the 3rd quarter of the game, one of the players on the team I was cheering for intercepted the ball from the other team and ran 67 yards across the field to score a touchdown. He had two players from the opposing team on his tail almost the entire time, but he ran and kept running despite the adversity physically and mentally. The two players were never able to tackle him, but if the player slowed down for even a second, the two opposing players would have clobbered him instantly, and he would not have scored the touchdown.
This player ran because he knew his purpose. He knew what he had to do: get the football and score a touchdown. I’m sure he was tired, but he kept going. I’m sure he felt the opponents right behind him, but he had a strong will about fulfilling his purpose.
Hold a strong will about your purpose.
Just like with the two players chasing after my player to tackle him if he slowed down for a moment, that can happen to us too. When we are fulfilling our ministry, people, situations, emotions, and other distractions will be ready to tackle us if we slow down for even a moment. We have to be on our guard and keep our momentum going. Adversity and weakness will come, and when they do, a strong will about our purpose is what will overcome them to score our touchdown.
Paul wanted Archippus to get his touchdown. He wanted him to complete the ministry God had given him.
To fulfill our ministry, we need to have a strong will about the ministry God has given to us and about our purpose.
Our ministries may change over our lifetime. We may finish one and begin another. Our life of ministry will not be truly complete until we see Jesus. In the meantime, there is a lot of work to do. Most importantly, we need to know and seek Christ, then we will discern our ministry to fulfill it.
The Reverend Billy Graham said, “Make sure of your commitment to Jesus Christ, and seek to follow Him every day. Don’t be swayed by the false values and goals of this world, but put Christ and His will first in everything you do.”
It’s all about committing to Jesus; chasing our purpose; fulfilling our ministry.
Questions for reflection
Answer the following questions in the comments below to reflect more on this post.
- What ministry do you see God leading you to do, but you have not done it yet?
- Have you ever felt like you were floundering in your ministries because you lacked focus? What steps did you take to find your focus?
- Is there one thought or sentence that stuck out to you in this week’s video? What stood out and why?
