Ephesians 6:21-22 (ESV)
So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.
How many Tychicus’ are there in the Bible? This is someone we know almost nothing about, but what we know about him says everything we need to know about him. He is mentioned there other times in the Bible, besides here. He is in this list of men who went with Paul, when there was a plot to kill him:
Acts 20:4 (ESV)
Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus.
When Paul was telling Timothy about some men who deserted him but others who didn’t, Tychicus was mentioned as one who didn’t and became a messenger for Paul and the church:
2 Timothy 4:12 (ESV)
Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.
He is mentioned the same way to young preacher, Titus, as being that same type of messenger for Paul:
Titus 3:12 (ESV)
When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.
Tychicus seems to be the Everyman image of a typical Christian man in the church. Here, in Ephesians, and in 2 Timothy and Titus, he is mentioned at the close of the letter. He is significant to Paul and the Church to be mentioned, but he is probably unnoticed by the typical readers of these letters, today. I want to be Tychicus. I want to have his reputation for faithfulness. I want to be beloved by those who know me, for simply being a messenger of God and an asset to the church. That is the reputation to strive for. Today, in our world, preachers, teachers of the Bible and church leaders want bigger, fame and to be known. Tychicus didn’t have any of that, but was simply faithful. Strive for that.
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