“I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation: Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.”
(Philippians 2:28–30, KJV)
A week ago, after serving as an interim pastor in a church nearby, they honored me with a churchwide meal following my final morning service. It was a wonderful time. The parishioners said a lot of nice things about my time with them. I was overwhelmed by their encouraging words. Yet I know that the entire nine months was only possible by God’s grace.
Taking this position was not without some amount of sacrifice. I came out of retirement to answer the call. Of course, when the Lord calls you to do something, you do not reject His will. But changing our routine to take a full-time position meant cancelling some planned vacations to see our children and an inability to decide to go fishing at a moment’s notice. Perhaps the biggest issue was dealing bladder cancer a few months into the calling and two subsequent surgeries while only missing one Sunday service. This too was only possible by God’s grace.
So, what has all of this to do with anything? In this Passage regarding Epaphroditus, Paul indicated that the church should holdhim“in reputation,” that is to honor him. Paul indicated that he risked his life to fulfill the mission given him.
While my experience and calling as an interim pastor does not compare to that of Epaphroditus, every believer who seeks to fulfill the calling of God in his or her life does pay a price in one way or another.
Now, I have always had a problem with being honored for serving the Lord. The reason is this, I know that nothing in the ministry is possible apart from the grace of God working in us. This is the case for every minister. Yet, if we understand Paul’s words here, it must be proper to honor those who have been faithful in their calling. So, it is ok to hold in high regard those who serve faithfully amidst the obstacles of life and the ever-present spiritual opposition.
One thing the church should remember in honoring any servant of the Lord is to give the glory to God for the person. The person honored must also maintain a humble perspective and give all the glory to God. I must admit that this is sometimes difficult since we all struggle with a fleshly nature that wants to exalt self. Thus, we all must guard against the fleshly desires to be proud and yield to the Holy Spirit who will always lead us on the path of righteousness.
Renewing the Heart 