That You May Know How I Am

So I come to the end of it. After all the heights — the riches of his grace, the mystery hidden for ages, the whole armor of God — I close with a man and a small errand: "Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything" (Ephesians 6:21). I could not put it all in a letter, so I sent a friend. Notice this: the gospel that I have been unfolding travels on the feet of ordinary faithful people. Tychicus is not named for great deeds but for two plain things — he is loved, and he is faithful. Be that, and you have been much.

And see why I sent him: "that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts" (Ephesians 6:22). I am in chains as I write, yet I am not anxious to have them pity me — I want them comforted. That is how love runs. It carries word across distance so that hearts do not grow cold or fearful in the silence. Do not underestimate this today: to tell a brother how you truly are, and to go and steady the heart of another, is the work of Christ's body.

Then I lay down my pen with a blessing folded threefold: "Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible" (Ephesians 6:23-24). Peace — for I opened with it (Ephesians 1:2), and I will not leave them without it. Love with faith — the two that must never be parted. And grace, always grace, the first word and the last, from Father and Son together.

Mark that final phrase. This whole letter is for those "who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible" — a love that does not rot, does not fade, does not die, because its object cannot die. He is risen. So love him with a love that shares his own deathlessness, and you will find that grace is with you to the end. Grace be with you, even now.