Morning Devotionals

by Don Emmitte

 

March 27th, 2008

 

"The Lesser Known Disciples (Part 1)"

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. (Romans 16:1-3 NIV).

Today I will begin a series describing some of the “lesser known” characters of the Bible. I have found so much inspiration from these wonderful faithful men and women that simply did what they were called to do in the work of God through the ages. Our first person to examine is found in our reading today from the Apostle Paul. Her name is Phoebe.

The name itself is revealing. It means “bright” or “radiant,” from the feminine form of the Greek god Apollo. It is obvious from her name that she was a Gentile Christian. Paul does reference her as “our sister.” Further we see that she was a member of the church at Cenchrea, a seaport about seven miles from Corinth. The apostle had sailed from this port when he traveled from Corinth to Ephesus.

It is interesting that she is called a “deaconess,” the actual translation of the word “servant” in verse 2 of our reading. Now before there is a flash of emails directed back at this statement, let me explain a bit. "Servant" is vague, and "deaconess" is too technical. In the later church there was an order of deaconesses for special work among women, owing to the peculiar circumstances of oriental life, but we have no reason to believe there was such an order at this early period. If Phoebe had voluntarily devoted herself "to minister to the saints" by means of charity and hospitality, she would be called diakonos. My intention here is not to broach the topic of the role of women in the church today! I do want to show you that she was a devoted, committed Christian laborer. Notice that the apostle instructs the members of the Roman church to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.

It is interesting to me that we often fail to recognize the gifts and talents of others when they simply aren’t as spectacular, or public as others. It might be best understood to simply say that Phoebe was a “helper” in the church. I don’t say that to diminish her influence. In fact, there is evidence to support the fact that she was very influential as she personally supported the Apostle Paul. Today we would call her his patron. My real point is that she used the gifts and abilities God has given her to make an impact on her world. And, isn’t that all of our calling? Today you may feel like such a small part of the kingdom of God that you are really unimportant in the greater scheme of ministry. Nothing could be further from the truth! You are vital! Even a cup of water given to the smallest of God’s children doesn’t go unnoticed by our Father. Take heart in your part of God’s work!