But that ye may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things. Ephesians 6:21
Four of the five mentions of Tychicus in the Scriptures involved his being sent by Paul to take messages to other Christians or to other Assemblies. There were occasions when Paul was too occupied with other things to make the trip himself. For example, today’s text refers to Tychicus being sent to Ephesus because Paul was in prison. Paul truly appreciated this man who he could sent with confidence to represent himself. The people in Ephesus were very interested in the apostle, and loved him deeply. They would long to have had another visit from him. That was not possible, but Paul could send Tychicus, and they would welcome him. Tychicus was a valuable and an interesting man, and possessed some qualities that we could well imitate.
Tychicus was very useful to Paul, writing letters and providing for his personal needs in the prison. Our text tells us that he was a faithful minister – or servant – in the Lord. Tychicus did not look upon Paul as his master; he looked upon the Lord Jesus as his master. And because he was a servant of the Lord Jesus, he served his Lord by serving Paul. What a wonderful concept! You and I are also the servants of the Lord Jesus. Like Tychicus, we can serve our Master by serving His people. We can prove our usefulness to our Lord by proving our usefulness to the Christians around us. We don’t have any apostles to serve these days. But we do have the Lord’s servants. Have we ever tried to be a help to them in any way? In addition to financial support and encouragement, there are possibly many ways in which we could be a help. The same goes for those Christians who are shut-ins or who are unable to function as they once did because of physical infirmities. What could we do for them? If we go down the list of all the Christians, we might well find many ways where we could be a help. By serving them, we serve the Lord.
The term ‘faithful minister’ carries the thought of being very active. When Paul needed Tychicus, he was a vailable. When someone needed to make a trip, Tychicus was ready to depart. When work needed to be done, Tychicus was up and at it. There was nothing lazy or slow about anything that he did. He serves as an excellent example for us to follow, in terms of being diligent and available for the Lord’s work.
We seldom read of Tyehicus acting or working alone; he was obviously a man who could get along well with others. For example, Paul sent Tychicus with Onesimus when the former runaway slave returned to his old master in Colosse. How well do we get along with others when it comes to serving the Lord?
Tychicus was useful, available, diligent, and friendly. That is a good list for us to copy. -Jim MacIntosh