His name was Epaphroditus. He had been chosen by the Philippian church to send a care package to Paul who was imprisoned at the time. Epaphroditus went beyond just delivering the gift from the Philippians, he stayed to help Paul. Paul calls him “my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier.” He says that Epaphroditus took care of his needs while there and even risked his life to provide Paul the help he needed. That’s a great testimony to the man’s character from the Apostle.
While with Paul, Epaphroditus fell ill, so ill that he almost died. Even then, Epaphroditus wasn’t concerned with himself, he was worried about the distress hearing about his illness might have on the church who sent him. If you have read the second chapter of Philippians, you’ve read about Epaphroditus.
What you may not know about him is what his name means. His name is of pagan origin and means “belonging to Aphrodite.” Aphrodite is the ancient Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. The name of the pagan goddess is actually incorporated in Epaphroditus’ name.
At some point, Epaphroditus heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The power of that Gospel set him free from dead paganism to serve the Living God. No longer was Epaphroditus “belonging to Aphrodite,” now he was “belonging to Jesus.” The old life had no more claim on him; he was a new creation in Christ.
We may not think often about Epaphroditus, but he is a perfect example of what God can do when He gets hold of a man or woman. He’s a perfect example also of someone who is so in love with and thankful to God that he is willing to sacrifice it all for the cause of Christ.
May there be a little Epaphroditus in all of us.
