Lifting one another up

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. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. Ephesians 6:21-22

One of the great unsung heroes of the New Testament has to be Tychicus. He is mentioned 5 times in the NT; he is called a beloved brother, a faithful minister and a fellow servant of the Lord. It seems he was a  close companion of Paul as he spread the gospel throughout Europe. What makes Tychicus a hero is not his titles but what he did for the churches in the area. Paul said to the church at Ephesus, I am sending him to you for this very purpose... . that he may encourage you. 

We do not have one word from Tychicus, we do not read one prayer he said or one sermon he preached, but we do know he was an encourager. Paul thought enough of his coworker to send him to the church in Ephesus, so the church could be encouraged. In the first century, church work was hard. Often times people found themselves isolated from other believers or misunderstood by the pagan culture. That is why Paul sent Tychicus to Ephesus, to encourage the believers when times got tough.

Things have not changed much in 2,000 years. We can still find ourselves isolated or misunderstood by others. When this happens the temptation can be to throw up our arms in surrender. However just as Paul sent Tychicus to encourage the church God has a way of sending us a Tychicus type person to encourage us. The challenge for each of us is to listen to the Tychicus in our life. Their words may be just the the thing we need to hear so we can continue the work God has called us to complete. 

If you area Tychicus type person, here are some words to ponder as you think about encouraging someone today...

• “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you.”
• “Seeds of faith are always within us; sometimes it takes a crisis to nourish and encourage their growth.”
• “People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be, not what you nag them to be.”
• “You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins.”