A Quiet Calling

Whether famous or nameless, we all have a calling from God.

When it comes to human heroes in the Bible, most people think of icons like Moses or David or Paul. But there are others too.

One of my favorite people in the Bible is Archippus.

You may not be overly familiar with him. He doesn’t get a lot of ink. Archippus makes only two appearances — once in Colossians and once in Philemon. And let’s face it, most folks don’t spend a lot of time dissecting the letter to Philemon.

But I love Archie. That’s what I call him since “Archippus” is a somewhat unfamiliar name.

I love Archie because he had a quiet calling. Near the end of Colossians, Paul practically stops mid-sentence to write,

And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.” (Colossians 4:17, ESV)

Archie was a notable member of the church in Colossae, and he received a call from God to do a specific work for the kingdom. Other than that, we don’t know much about him. We don’t even know what he was supposed to do, but whatever it was, we know he needed to finish it.

Perhaps Archie had lost interest in his work, and his fervor had sort of fizzled. Perhaps Archie had experienced discouraging opposition, and he needed some encouragement to press on. Perhaps Archie had gotten busy with regular life, and he just plain forgot about the job he was supposed to do. Or perhaps Archie was still going strong, and Paul just wanted to say: Keep on keeping on!

Whatever the case, Paul paused in his letter to speak directly to Archie to encourage him in the work God gave him to do.

Archie’s presence in the canon of Holy Scripture is a deep encouragement to us all, because it shows us how God notices the lesser-known, no matter how obscure their ministry may be.

Perhaps you feel like the ways you serve go unnoticed by human eyes, but that doesn’t make your service any less important to God.

Many people today are being faithful to finish the work they received from the Lord. Too often, though, we only hear about the “famous” believers — the ones traveling the globe with speaking engagements or stadium-filling concerts.

We have become conditioned in America to think that only the big visible things matter to God. But the Bible says otherwise. The Bible shows us, over and over again, that even doing small things for God, when done with a heart of obedience and humility, pleases the Lord.

I thank God for including Archie in the Bible. He’s a great reminder to us that — whether famous or nameless — we all have a calling from God. And the verse in Colossians 4:17 encourages not only Archippus, but also each one of us, to complete the work God has called us to do.

When I think of the people who have made the biggest impact in my life, I notice they all had the same thing in common: They were like Archie. They lived quiet humble lives, faithfully serving others.

In my view, they’re like hidden heroes, and they’re the greatest difference makers of all, because they impact the kingdom one heart at a time. And we can too.

A quiet calling is a beautiful thing. Perhaps not in the eyes of the world, but definitely in the eyes God. And that is all that really matters.

Shalom.

Denise