“You learned it from Epaphras…” (Colossians 1:7 NIV)
Last month we sent our daughter, Ema, to Logos Hope. After years of investing in her life, it is such a joy to see how she can now begin to spread the gospel of Jesus on to others around the world.
Do you know that Colossians is the only letter Paul wrote to a church that he probably never visited in person? The reason is the church in Colossae was not started by Paul, but by Paul’s co-worker, Epaphras. It could be that Epaphras came to know Jesus through Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, and then Epaphras spread the gospel to his people in Colossae and Laodicea. The gospel spread from one spiritual generation to the next.
We all received the gospel through someone else. Now it is our time to pass it on to others. And they in turn can pass it on to others. Epaphras not only shared his life and the good news of Christ with his family, friends, and people around him, but he also continued to wrestle in prayer for them.
May God give us the same hearts as Epaphras, to pass the gospel of Jesus on from generation to generation.
Stephan Smithdorff
