Friends for Hardship

Colossians 4:10-14

[10] Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), [11] and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. [12] Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. [13] For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. [14] Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.

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Paul continues to list off those who have been of comfort to him while restrained in prison. Some are fellow inmates held captive, while others attend to Paul, visiting and remaining close by in Rome. These remaining six individuals are of great comfort to Paul, with great reason worth mentioning to the Church. While it may appear to be everyone chiming in to make sure their greeting is included in the letter, Paul, by naming them all, is showing something important about the Kingdom of God.

In Christ, there is no longer jew or gentile; only unity in fellowship. Artistarchus, John Mark (author of the gospel of Mark), and Justus are all of Jewish descent, while Epaphras, Luke (author of the gospel of Luke), and Demas are all Gentiles. To have a band of brothers from these two separate backgrounds is only something found in the Kingdom of God. Jesus declared that the gospel of His salvation was meant to reach all nations, just as scripture often foretold.

[Jesus] said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Luke 24:46-47

Where culturally, society was causing division and separation of people, the gospel was proclaiming oneness in Christ. As the gospel message continued to go out to the Gentiles, this was a stumbling block for many Jews, with only three among the fellowship Paul had. However, the friendship Paul has is not reflective of the progressiveness needed in the culture, but of a Kingdom not of this world. The Kingdom has Christ as their unity.

Paul highlights some of the traits of what Kingdom Friendship looks like:

• A friendship that serves to have unity in Christ, not with the world.

• A friendship that adheres to being fellow workers.

• A friendship that gives comfort amongst struggle.

• A friendship that labors for the sake of others to know Christ.

It’s not a question of if you’ll need this kind of fellowship, but when you’ll need it. For any engagement with the Kingdom of God, we will see a steady push towards our maturity and assurance in God’s will. For us to obtain these means, we will find ourselves in struggle and hardship, through which we mature and are reassured. It is in these moments, fellowship was designed for.

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Questions

Q: How well can we identify six others that exhibit these traits?

Q: If we cannot, how well are we expressing these traits within ourselves?

Q: What has been a stumbling block for you to be in Christian Fellowship?