Colossians 4:12-15 (NIV)
Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
Epaphras was the man who had brought the gospel to Colossae, and who had started the church there (Colossians 1:7). Now he was in Rome learning more from Paul and helping him in his ministry.
But Epaphras hadn’t forgotten his spiritual children in Colossae. He was continually praying hard for them, “wrestling in prayer” as Paul puts it. He was also praying hard for the Christians in the two other nearby cities, Laodicea and Hierapolis, churches which he likely started as well.
Two other noted Christians were with Paul in Rome. Luke, the doctor, who wrote both the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, was helping see to Paul’s physical needs, and was putting the finishing touches on his own works. Demas would later fall away and settle in Thessalonica (2 Timothy 4:10), causing Paul much grief. But at this point, he was actively involved in the work of the kingdom that Paul was doing.
And, finally, Paul gave personal greetings to the church in Laodicea which he had heard about, but had not yet had a chance to visit. He also greets Nympha, a Christian woman in Colossae, as well as to the Church that met in her house. At this point in history, the Church had no building set aside for their specific use. So, they usually met in private homes. The host, the owner of the home, could be either a man or, like Nympha, a woman, whoever felt led to provide a comfortable and accessible meeting place for God’s church.
Father, I love these small insights into the people who made up your church in those early days. Many of them were not the prominent people in the cities where they lived. And many, like Nympha, would have had limited opportunities to shine in a society in which women had few rights, and fewer expectations of any great deeds. But that never mattered to You. When You looked at Nympha, You didn’t see her as a woman as much as one of Your people, to whom You had given gifts, graces, and a calling. And when she said yes, You gave her an opportunity for service, and great blessing (Not to mention getting her name put in Your word!). Lord, help me to never worry about my status, or to get caught up in my own advancement an agenda, so that I end up like Demas. Instead, help me to simply say yes to the opportunities you give me each day, so that I can be like Nympha: blessed. Amen.