This article is based on Colossians 1:1-14.
What's going on in Colossae?
Colossae is a city the Lycus Valley. It is near Hierapolis and Laodicea. Colossae is filled with Gentiles and is very important for trading routes. The Colossians had turned from other religions and put their faith in Jesus. However, some of them were combining their new faith in Jesus with old beliefs in idols.
The time period is around AD 60 when Paul is in prison for the first time. Paul wrote the Colossians letter to remind them about Christ. Throughout the letter, Paul is reminding them "Christ is all they really need." It is pointless to mix new faith with old beliefs. A unique fact about Paul's relationship with the Colossians is that Paul never visited Colossae, so he is going based off of what he heard from Epaphras. Epaphras, a disciple of Paul, found faith in Christ while hearing Paul speak in Ephesus. Epaphras is from the city of Colossae. After learning from Paul and growing in faith, Epaphras went back home to plant a church. Also, Epaphras is referred to as a giant in prayer. At this point, he is with Paul during his imprisonment and is giving an account on the church.
What is a faithful servant?
What does it mean to be faithful? Being faithful means to be true to one's word or promises, be steady in allegiance, and be consistent with the truth. A faithful person is loyal, reliable, trustworthy, and believable. From a Spiritual perspective, faithful means to literally be full of faith. From a relationship perspective, being faithful means to not cheat or have affections for another person. In order to be faithful to God, we should not have affections for idols. Practicing idolatry (worship or extreme admiration to false gods) is a horrible habit for many of us. To avoid further hinderances to our faithfulness, we have to get rid of following idols: money, football, school, work, celebrities, sports, etc.
What does it mean to be a servant? A servant is devoted and helpful follower or supporter. There are numerous ways to of ways to serve God. You just have to find your unique way to be a servant. You can worship in a college campus ministry band, help at food shelters, pray for people, serve food, or a variety of other ways. The idea of servanthood is to humble yourself, submit to God, and meet the needs of others. It is not about receiving money or some type of reward. Being a servant is like an ant, which is a very small character but very dedicated hard worker. It is similar to being a water boy, chef, waitress, or garbageman. Their job is to meet the needs of the people they're serving.
"Faith is to be awake
And to be awake is for us to think
And for us to think is to be alive"
- Twenty One Pilots from "Car Radio"
With that part of the lyrics, you can think about being spiritually alive or spiritually dead. Is your servanthood alive or dead?
Patch Adams, a true servant
Patch Adams, who is played by Robin Williams, is a first-year medical student at the Medical College of Virginia. In the movie, Patch Adams gets in trouble because of his methods of treating patients. The council of doctors do not approve of his methods and believe there should not be a bond between doctors and patients. The council's attitude towards Patch Adams is similar to the Pharisees and Sadducees' attitude towards Jesus. They were not fond of Jesus' methods to teaching, healing, and being a servant to others. Unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus built relationships and showed that He truly cares for the people He's servingTowards the end of the movie, Patch Adams gives a speech about the right way to treat patients. He challenges people to be better doctors. Some of the the points Patch Adams makes can be for being a servant.
"Every person who comes to the Ranch is in charge of taking care of someone else."
"Every human being has an impact on another."
"I wanted to become a doctor to serve others. Because of that, I have lost everything, but i have also gained everything"
Jesus challenges His people to become better followers, believers, and servers. "(23) Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take u their cross daily and follow me. (24) For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. (25) What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit heir very self? (Luke 9:23-25)." Similar to Jesus, Paul challenges us to be better servants in Colossians and his other letters
How to be a faithful servant?
Here is Paul's list of ways to be a faithful servant:
- Pray and give thanks to God.
- Let other know about your faith (not in a bragging way but a sincere way).
- Have love for God's people.
- Have good expectations of God and his people.
- Bear fruit that will change lives.
- Help/serve others.
- Tell others about the Holy Spirit.
- Do not stop praying for others.
- Have knowledge of God's will.
- Grow in the knowledge of God.
- Be strengthened with great endurance, power, and patience.
All of this enables you to live a life worthy of the Lord and pleasing to Him.
How is your servanthood? Is it alive or dead? How can you use your serving skills to better glorify God? How can you improve being a servant? If you are lacking at being faithful, then how can you change that?
