The Best Place to Serve God is Where God Put You
By Michael Kelley
Paul the apostle wrote the letter we now know as the book of Colossians. But to get the story behind the letter, we really shouldn’t start with Paul - we should start with a man named Epaphrus.
Epaphras was from the city of Colossae, an agricultural town in Asia Minor, not as prominent as its two neighboring cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis. Some time around AD 52, Epaphrus left Colossae and traveled the 100 or so miles to Ephesus. Now Ephesus was a major city at the time - it was a thriving hub for trade, commerce, and religion. We don’t know why Epaphrus went there - it might have been for business, or it might have been for personal reasons - but the important thing was that he happened to visit Ephesus at the same time when Paul was spending three years in ministry there.
And Epaphrus heard the gospel from Paul. Not only did he hear it, he believed it. And not only did he believe it, but Paul became his mentor. In fact, Paul refers to him as a "dear fellow servant" and a "faithful minister of Christ" who served "on our behalf" (Colossians 1:7). Epaphrus was "commissioned" to carry the gospel back to his hometown region of the Lycus Valley. He took it back with him to Colossae and shared it with his family and neighbors there. And not just there, but also in Laodicea and Hierapolis. And the church was born.
Fast forward ten years, and Paul has found himself under house arrest in Rome, and this time Epaphras traveled over 1,000 miles from Colossae to visit him and bring a report from the church. That’s when Paul wrote the letter we have in our Bibles today.
Now why does that backstory matter? For a number of reasons, but at least one of them is this:
The best place to serve God is where God put you.
Paul never visited Colossae. But he was faithfully serving where God had put him - in the prominent city of Ephesus. Epaphrus didn’t move to Ephesus to be with Paul; instead he chose to faithfully serve where God put him - in the lackluster and declining town of Colossae. Both of them didn’t wish away the opportunities right in front of them; instead, they serve right where they were.
That is a powerful lesson for us because we spend much of our lives wishing and hoping and longing to be somewhere else than we currently are. If we are Christians, we might even be doing so because of what we think are noble reasons. We want to be in a larger church. Or we might want a position of greater influence. Or we might hope to attain a greater level of notoriety. All of this in a different place than the one in which God has put us right now.
And who knows? Perhaps we will someday be in a different place than the place we are now. And when we get to that different place, we will have another opportunity to serve in a place where God has put us. But as for now?
Now we are here. Among these people. Whether we are in Ephesus or Colossae. And right here is an opportunity for faithfulness. Indeed, our willingness to serve right where God put us is not just a reflection of our faithfulness to God; it’s a reflection of our belief in His intentionality and sovereignty. Here’s how Paul put that belief:
The God who made the world and everything in it—he is Lord of heaven and earth—does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring’ (Acts 17:24-28).
God has put you where you are. What’s more, He’s put the people around you where they are. And why has He done that? According to Paul, it’s so that all of them might seek after Him. So, Christian, get engaged today. Don’t waste time wishing for another place and time; instead, serve Him where you are, whether you’re in Ephesus or in Colossae.
Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.