Daily Devotions
Fellow Workers in the Lord
Reading for March 1: Deuteronomy 26-27
Weekly reading for February 25-March 3: Romans 11-16
Title: Fellow Workers in the Lord
Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.
Romans 16:12
There are 27 individuals mentioned by name in the last chapter of Romans. Most of them are commended for their work for the Lord.
It is impressive how thoroughly Christ-centered this chapter is.
- Verse 2: "welcome her in the Lord."
- Verse 3: "my fellow workers in Christ Jesus."
- Verse 5: "the first converts to Christ."
- Verse 7: "they were in Christ before me."
- Verse 8: "my beloved in the Lord."
- Verse 9: "our fellow worker in Christ."
- Verse 10: "approved in Christ."
- Verse 11: "those in the Lord."
- Verse 12: "workers in the Lord."
- Verse 12: "worked hard in the Lord."
- Verse 13: "Rufus, chosen in the Lord."
Paul could have just given a simple list of people to greet and then finished his letter, but he never missed an opportunity to draw our attention toward Christ. He highlighted their relationship in the Lord. But it could also be that this was unintentional. His thinking was so oriented toward Christ that this kind of language just naturally flowed from his pen.
Either way, this kind of language (and thinking) is something we should imitate. We should not only greet one another (in person, on the phone, in letters/messages), but the priority of Christ in our relationships should be reflected in the way we greet one another.
Father, we thank you for our fellow workers in the Lord.
