After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
17 Tell Archippus: "See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord."
18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Colossians4:16-18
And so we get to the end of Paul's letter to the Colossians.
It has been quite a journey! We have heard Paul's passionate prayers for the congregation. We've heard him extol the majesty and glory of Christ. We've witnessed the threats the congregation has faced and we've seen Paul call them to a life of gratitude and praise lived in the presence of our loving God. We've met some of Paul's co-workers and have been inspired by them.
And now the final greeting comes with three notable points:
1. Paul asks them to pass the letter on to the church in Laodicea and that they read the Laodicea letter. This is an important principle: to share what we have learned with others and to be willing to learn from others. We are not Christians alone and we are not even congregations in isolation. We are in partnership in the gospel. This is a critical issue for Paul.
2. Archippus must finish his work. The only other mention we have of Archippus is in the letter to Philemon where he is called a fellow soldier. We don't know what the task was that Archippus had received.
Was it a church he was establishing?
Was it a matter of personal spirituality?
Was it pastoral care that he was to offer to others?
We don't know. What we do know is that Paul challenged him to get it done. Don't put it off, don't procrastinate, don't delay, get... it... done...! (What are you delaying? Get it done!)
3. Paul asked them to remember his chains. He was under house arrest in Rome. He is being vulnerable here. He is asking them to remember that he is not perfect and that his circumstances are challenging. Sometimes we assume that spiritual leaders have it all together and that everything is going well in their lives. Like Paul, many leaders work under tough circumstances. Remember them in your prayers.
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That's it - we've worked our way through this amazing letter. I pray that you have been inspired and challenged by the journey!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
