God’s work, God’s mission, has always been global in its scope. But God’s wisdom has always gone about this global work in local, personal ways. The letter to the Colossian Christians said God’s grace was “bearing fruit and growing in the whole world,” and then immediately shifted gears to say, “You learned it from Epaphras” (a seldom-named associate of the apostle Paul). God’s “secret:” bearing fruit in the whole world, one person at a time.

• Sometimes we’re tempted to see the good news of Jesus as ethereal, something we talk about in church, away from the “real world.” Colossians didn’t see it that way at all; it was “bearing fruit,” changing individual lives and the whole world for the better. In what ways have you seen the good news bear fruit in your own life, and the lives of people you know well? How have you seen it bear fruit in justice or reconciliation in larger settings?
• What person or persons played the role of Epaphras, teaching you the life-changing message of God’s grace through Jesus? In what ways are you growing in your ability to “live a life that is worthy of the Lord”? Who are the people with whom you can share that growth, becoming an Epaphras to them?