“Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts…” (Colossians 4:7-8, NKJV).

I looked Tychicus up this morning because I saw that he was at the end of Colossians, and I knew that he was mentioned at the end of Ephesians. I did a little research on him. He was a faithful, fellow servant. He accompanied Paul on his third missionary journey. He visited with him in prison in Rome. He obviously was sent to the churches. He carried some of the epistles to the churches. We have Ephesians because Tychicus was faithful. He carried the epistle to the Ephesians. He had his own ministry of comforting the saints, encouraging them, but he also had a ministry to Paul, serving him.

I have a “bloom where you are planted” message from this. We all have a different purpose, and a different ministry. We don’t always know how we’re serving, and what impact we’re having. He was a messenger. He knew he wasn’t Paul. He was happy to serve Paul, to be considered a fellow servant of Paul, ministering to his needs, helping deliver the gift of money to the believers in Jerusalem who needed it, being Paul’s messenger to take his important letter to the Ephesians. He didn’t know that he wasn’t just delivering this teaching to the Ephesians to encourage them and help them. He didn’t know that he was—loving, helping, blessing—a billion other people by doing that. He didn’t know the impact that he had.

He just knew that in loving God, he was going to be this faithful helper and servant to Paul and do what he needed to help Paul be a minister of the gospel that he was called to be. That was how Tychicus was fulfilling his calling in Christ. He didn’t know what greater ministry he had, but we have Ephesians (maybe another one too) because of it. So be thankful for your role, whatever it is. You could be changing diapers, but you don’t know the impact of your ministry.