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Bless the Letter Carrier

Words of Faith Final

Bless the Letter Carrier

Words of Faith 5-19-2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2021

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Ephesians 6

Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. [22] I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.

 

    Don’t forget the letter carrier.  Some note that Ephesians is not an extremely personal letter because Paul did not greet a long list of people the way that he sometimes did.  But he did mention the fellow who was bringing the letter to the Ephesians.  It may be that this letter was intended specifically to circulate among the churches of the region, but this was the first link in a long, long chain of letter carriers. 

    The letter carrier was Tychicus.  The name is pronounced Too-khee-kos.  I sometimes try and imagine what it might have been like to be the first one entrusted to carry a letter that that is now in the Bible and we understand to be God-breathed.

     We don’t know the name of the ones who carried Galatians or 1 and 2 Thessalonians.  Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus brought a letter of concerns from the Corinthian church to Paul and may have been involved in the return of the letter.   A woman named Phoebe carried the letter to the Romans.  Tychicus carried both Ephesians and Colossians.

     One wonders what that was like. The weight would not have been any heavier than any other scroll.  It would not have glowed with a special aura.  But the gravity of this letter was immense, and Tychicus had the honor of being the first to carry it.

    Paul commended Tychichus as a brother and faithful servant in the Lord.  He was also the one who brought news to those receiving the letter.  He was a sort of human prayer-letter telling everything that was needed so that they might know how Paul was doing.  He carried the personal concerns and needs of Paul with him.  "I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage you."

    What a profound place in history.  Yet, if we will stop and think about it, we are no less important in the succession of those who carry the Word of God and bring the message of Christ.  Paul handed this amazing letter addressed to the Ephesians to Tychicus, and as he did, he surely looked into his eyes, knowing that this was just the first in a long line of those who would carry the Word to many places.  Paul probably did not see the whole picture.  Who could have?  But he knew that this letter was destined for more than just the first who would read it.  He must have sensed the burning of the Holy Spirit, who was inspiring the words and every stroke of the pen. 

    As we receive the Word, we might pause and think in this same way--as if the Apostle were looking us in the eye and handing us the very word of God.  We now carry the letter to the Ephesians in every form, from paper to phone to flash drive.  We receive, and we pass on hopefully with the same faithfulness as Tychicus, who first received the papyrus scroll.  The purpose is the same--that you may know the Apostle and his message and be encouraged.

     The big question in the study of Scripture is always to think about what we will do with that which we have received.  Will we pass it on?  Will we be faithful in receiving and then giving?  Will we engage the next generation and entrust to another the truth of Christ and His grace? 

 

     Lord, may I be found faithful.  May I have the courage to carefully entrust the truth of Your Word to others and extend the grace and encouragement of Christ.  Give me that grace.  In Jesus’ Name.