Epaphroditus

Today’s reading:  Philippians 1-2

But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.  Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me (Philippians 2:25-30).

 

My assignment for today’s post is to write about Epaphroditus.  References to his life are appear in Philippians 2, as referenced above.  Paul wrote the book of Philippians (a letter to the church in Philippi) in about 61 A.D. from his jail cell Rome.  After hearing of his imprisonment, the Philippian church put together some kind of a care package to assist with Paul’s needs.  Biblical scholars believe Epaphroditus was probably an elder or a deacon in the Philippian church planted by the Apostle Paul.  He was also the person who delivered the Philippian church’s care package and stayed to help with the ministry Paul was carrying on from prison.  While Epaphroditus was in Rome working with Paul, he became very sick and almost died.

That’s it.  These five verses (and one honorable mention in Philippians 4) are the only references to Ephaphroditus in the entire Bible!  Since that wasn’t much to go on, I went looking for some additional information on this servant of the Lord.

My search led me to the work of Tony Campolo, a sociology professor and religious advisor to former president Bill Clinton.   Campolo tells about a study conducted with people over the age of 95 where each was asked what they would do differently if they were given the opportunity to live life over again.  Study results revealed three common themes.  If they could go back and do it again, these elderly folks said they would –

 

  • Reflect more
  • Risk more
  • Do more things that will live on after they are gone

So simple, yet so profound.  While I don’t know enough about Epaphroditus to know whether or not his life was marked by a healthy dose of reflection.  From the five verses about him in Philippians 2, however, we do know he risked a lot in service to the kingdom of God.  This kingdom has lived on for thousands of years after his life, it is a kingdom that will never end, and is definitely worth our investment.

Today I challenge you to reflect on your own life.  Are you risking enough?  Are you invested in the kingdom of God?  Could you do more?  I suspect if you’re like me the answer is yes, I could do more.