Fulfill with Care the Ministry Received in the Lord

Just as children tell their mother what happened at school, Christians bring the joys and sorrows of each day to God in prayer. Paul, imprisoned and hindered in his preaching of the gospel, asks the believers to pray that he might proclaim it by other means.

A Christian’s life must be the same inside the church as outside it. Those outside cannot see Jesus for themselves, and so they judge Christ by what his people say and do. That is why the faithful are to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Wisdom alone turns into cunning; innocence alone is foolishly taken in.

Paul did not put himself forward but named his fellow workers, such as Tychicus and Onesimus, one by one, giving each his place. The work of the church is not achieved by the ability of a single person. It is when each one fulfills with care, from a humble place, the ministry they have received that God grants wisdom and fullness.