A Quiet Strength That Stays Brotherly
Strong and tender, Jesus builds a family that stirs the same pot, each serving with joy.
Devotional Credit: In Christ, E. Stanley Jones, on Colossians 4:7
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Tychicus did not try to be a headline. He moved like a steady friend in the background, a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord. E. Stanley Jones points to him as a living picture of how grace makes us strong and tender at the same time.
Some of us know how to push a project forward. Fewer of us know how to carry hearts with us as we go. Jones warns that drive without brotherhood turns into successful loneliness. It gets the task done, then finds the table empty.
Tychicus shows a better way. He served Jesus with focus, yet he stayed knit to people. He was trusted with news, with travel, and with teams. Faithful did not mean harsh. Minister did not mean isolated. Brother and servant framed his power with love.
I am grateful for Jones’s gentle nudge here. The Spirit forms a community where Jesus is the center, not our egos. Together we are stronger, kinder, and more fruitful. The work gets done, and people are lifted while it happens.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I am the Holy Spirit, and I set you in the body of Christ for the common good. I have placed members as I choose, yet always in love and for mutual care. I call you to walk worthy of your calling with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. I teach you to consider others before yourselves, to look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. I remind you that you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Let your speech be gracious, seasoned with salt. Serve the Lord with gladness. In everything, work heartily for the Lord and not for people, for you serve the Lord Jesus. Encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all. In love serve one another, because you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Real-Life Analogy
Picture a pot of soup on the stove. One person chops onions, another stirs, someone else adds salt at the right moment. If one insists on doing it all, the soup scorches. When each does the small part with the others, dinner sings.
Today, when a teammate struggles with a deadline, or a family member feels overwhelmed, turn to the Lord within and say, Lord, I trust You to share Your servant heart through me right here. Then offer a simple, concrete help, like taking one task off the list, sending a kind update, or washing the dishes with a smile. The Spirit of Jesus will season the room.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that in Jesus I am not alone. You have joined me to a family and given me the Spirit who binds us together in peace. I welcome Your love to drive my efforts and to soften my edges. I thank You that Your life in me is faithful, brotherly, and cooperative. I step into the day confident that the Lord serves through my hands and speaks through my mouth, for Your glory and the good of others. Amen.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
1 Corinthians 12:7-27. Ephesians 4:1-3. Philippians 2:3-4. Ephesians 2:19-22. Colossians 4:6. Psalm 100:2. Colossians 3:23-24. 1 Thessalonians 5:14. Galatians 5:13-14. Galatians 3:28.