Complete

Colossians 4:17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”

It can be so easy to quit. Things are getting tough and you think to yourself, “I could just quit right now and the struggle would be over.” And for some people that is enough reasoning to get them to quit. So they do. They stop, often within spitting distance of the goal without knowing it.

Quitting is the way of life for some people. They almost never reach a goal. Instead, they allow others to do the hard work. They are happy just going with the flow wherever the flow flows. They don’t feel the need to put in any effort. And as a result their lives are wasted.

For the Christian, going with the flow is not an option. There are specific things we are to be doing as Jesus followers. We are responsible for those actions and attitudes. And besides, the flow is going the absolute opposite direction we should be going.

It is not that the world has kind of good goals that lead us kind of close to God’s goals. And close is pretty good. Remember, narrow is the road that leads to life. Kind of godly goals are ungodly goals. Remember the yeast!

Paul knows of a man named Archippus. And here at the end of the letter, at the end of a list of greetings and encouraging words, Paul tells this man something. He tells him to complete the ministry. He must be at a point where quitting seems like an option. He is wavering in his commitment to the cause of Christ.

So Paul gives him a little verbal shove. Notice that it is a shove in a particular direction. Paul pushes Archippus toward the ministry he received in the Lord. Something must have been spelled out for Archippus by the Lord, or by the body of believers. We don’t know what it was. But Paul wants to make sure that Archippus completes it.

Who do we have in our life that will shove us at the moment of hesitation when we are wavering? Who do we have that will hold us accountable for the ministry to which we know the LORD has called us? Are you resisting a nudge right now?

Do you play the pusher roll in anyone’s life? Is there someone who needs a little nudge in order to complete their ministry? What is keeping you from nudging in the Lord?