“You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people.” – 1 Corinthians 16:15, NIV

Our world is crazy about titles and positions.

However, nobody handed Stephanas an appointment letter or a job description.

No committee voted, no title appeared in front of his name, neither did he have an office.

Yet, the apostle Paul, writing to a church fond of status and spiritual celebrity, singles out this household for honor. Why?

Because he and his household saw a gap and decided, quietly and permanently, that it was theirs to fill.

Our meditation today says, the household of Stephanas, the first converts in Achaia, “have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people.”

In the original language, the term translated ‘have devoted themselves’ has both a military and civic connotation.

Soldiers were assigned posts, and officials were appointed to an office.

Here, remarkably, the appointing authority is the household itself.

They stationed themselves to serve.

My beloved King James Version renders it as “addicted themselves,” which in 17^th Century English meant bound over to a cause or master.

The nuance is that of a freely chosen, settled posture: a post taken up and not abandoned, whatever the cost.

And the ‘post’ in this instance is diakonia, the ordinary word for service, the work of one who waits at tables.

Serving God’s people runs through the New Testament as the natural shape of godliness.

Jesus told His disciples that the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, then knelt with a towel and a basin to wash their feet.

The apostle Paul urged the Galatians to serve one another humbly in love, and James counted looking after orphans and widows as part of “pure religion.”

Salvation was never meant to end in private piety.

Rather, to be saved is to be enlisted into service.

That is why Stephanas looks so much like Christ.

Lend your professional skills such as legal, medical, financial, engineering, counselling, writing etc, to the Church pro bono.

Our Lord Jesus, who held every right to be served, set those rights aside; He assigned Himself to His disciples as a servant.

The Stephanas household moved in the same downward direction, devoting themselves to hospitality, encouragement, and practical care of God’s people.

Their conversion left something behind in the lives of other people.

Now consider our age, which asks first about ranks and positions.

Who sees me?

Who credits me?

What do I gain?

How is my time compensated?

To many, ministry means a title, a pulpit, a following.

Against that mindset stands a household nobody promoted, whose faithfulness we know only because an apostle refused to let it go unmentioned.

And God notices too, doesn’t He?

Hebrews 6:10 promises that He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints.

Hidden service is never wasted service.

So, begin where they began, with a single decision.

You need not wait until you become an expert in ministry.

This week, send someone a text or a note with a verse in it.

Host or lead a Bible study group, and take a new believer under your wing.

Share a meal and clothe God’s children.

Give to those in need and to missionaries and church planters.

Lend your professional skills such as legal, medical, financial, or engineering, counselling, writing etc, to the Church and pro bono.

Join a ministry team at your local church, and be a devoted intercessor for the church of Christ.

Choose not to be a mere churchgoer.

Pick your own post, and stay at it, come rain, come sunshine, through thick and thin.