Do you think a brother in Heaven is giving the Apostle Paul a real chewing out over the blatant omission of his name in one of Paul’s epistles? Do you think his enjoyment of Christ and Heaven is being hindered because his work but not his name is mentioned in 2 Corinthians? Do you think he’s wagging his finger in Paul’s face just now saying:
"Yes, but you still haven't given me a good explanation for omitting my name. You mentioned the names of others. I worked just as hard to promote the Gospel as they did, yet people don't know it was me to whom you were referring. Do you think that's fair? Theologians, down through the centuries, have been trying to figure out who that great brother was. Why didn't you tell them it was me? When they write about me, they all say: "We're not told who this brother was, so there's no use conjecturing," but then they all do their fair share. Some guess it was this brother or that brother; some may even think it was me. But the point is: why didn't you give me credit for my commitment to the Gospel?"
Paul was writing to Corinthian believers regarding financial assistance for the poverty-stricken Christians in Jerusalem. Other churches had contributed, but Corinth hadn’t yet done so. Paul advises them that Titus and two other brothers would soon be visiting Corinth to pick up their collection for Jerusalem. Here’s what Paul said about one of the men who would accompany Titus:
“And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the Gospel throughout all the churches; And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace…” 2 Corinthians 8:18-19
So who was this brother? We don’t know. He was well-known for his consistent love and commitment to the Gospel. Some assert that his preaching was well-known, but how do we know that? There’s more to the Gospel than what goes on behind a platform. Perhaps he was renowned for spending his spare time going door to door sharing the good news about Christ. Maybe he had a proven track record of telling the market merchants, police officers, school teachers, house servants and others about Christ – just in his daily conversations. Perhaps his fame in the Gospel was the result of his ability to draw people out to hear others preach. Maybe he consistently picked up a chariot load of villagers to transport them to gospel efforts. Or it could have been that he was well-known for his support as an ‘enabler’ in helping finance the spread of the Gospel.
This brother wasn’t worried about his own fame but rather the fame of Christ and making Him better known to sinners. He wasn’t just in high gear for the Gospel when Paul was around. The Gospel was the love of his life. Everybody knew it!
Perhaps you are consistently and tirelessly spreading the Gospel in your own unique way, but your name is not flashed abroad over social media or in emails or Christian news columns. Your contemporaries may know that you live for one thing – but how will your name be remembered in the future? Shouldn’t your self-sacrificing efforts get more attention and be recorded in history?
Jesus said we are to be aware (leery and very cautious) of those who want to be noticed — those who want their name to get around. (Mark 12:38-39) Yes, watch out for those who, in their practised self-effacing and deferential ways, seek the limelight. We must ruthlessly judge such treacherous thoughts in our hearts and confess the sin of subtly angling for more recognition.
Our flesh finds obscurity challenging to deal with. It whispers: “Your obscurity is an insult and an indignity to what you are really doing. You deserve the headlines just as much as others.” Such thoughts have to be confessed and abandoned.
May you be encouraged today, knowing that most of what is being done for the Lord today on Planet Earth is being done in obscurity, which is how it has always been. In his day, Elijah thought he was the only one doing anything for the Lord until the Lord told him there were 7000 others whose names we know not. (1Kings 19:10,18) Quite the ratio — 7000:1
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Are we stretching things too much to suggest that John the Baptist understood who must have the priority, the preeminence and the fame? “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). What counts isn’t our own name – but His Name. Not our fame but His. Not whether we are well-known or not – but whether we have done our part in making Him well-known — showing others through our deeds of kindness, thoughtful ways and gracious words “the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” 1 Peter 2:9
Dear Child of God — what matters is your faithfulness to Christ and every little effort you make in spreading His fame locally and beyond in all your travels. He knows your name, and that’s what matters!
