Anytime we are facing a hard situation or a huge challenge, it is good to know there are those we can depend on to support our endeavors. Going it alone seems to make the task harder, but let a friend come along beside you, and the endeavor seems much easier. I believe I am blessed with real friends. It is in the trenches of danger or discouragement that real friends are revealed.
In Colossians 4:10 we meet Paul’s friend Aristarchus. He is in prison with Paul in Rome.
Colossians 4:10 “Aristarchus my fellow prisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)”
Aristarchus is the kind of friend that we would say was in the relationship for the long haul. He was from Thessalonica, where Paul had spent three weeks preaching Jesus to the Jews and many Greeks. It is possible that Aristarchus became a Christian during this time. According to Acts 17, he would have come to faith in Christ at a time when there was great adversity to Christianity from the Jews. Did this adversity deter Aristarchus from following Christ? The answer would be “No!” We find him as a companion of Paul in Ephesus, where the mob was ready to kill Paul for proclaiming Christ, as the only God. This proclamation caused many to accept Christ and put away their idols made of silver. This affected their economy and incited a riot. The crowd could not find Paul, because the disciples would not allow Paul to enter into the arena for fear of his life, but they did find his companions, Aristarchus and Gaius.
Act 19:29 “And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.”
These two were now in a very dangerous situation, but it never changed Aristarchus’s goal of serving the Lord alongside Paul.
Now, he was Paul’s companion in prison in Rome. Paul was grateful and moved by the love that Aristarchus had for Christ and him. He gives him the title of a fellow prisoner. He was a faithful man, focused and real. This is how we should be when we come to Christ, and that passion should only grow stronger. Our desire to push forward in witnessing and winning others should not become something we think about here and there. It should consume us, as it did Paul and those who were with him.
We are to be faithful to the cause of Christ even if it endangers our life. Had it not been for the bravery of those before us, there is a good chance we would not have the gospel in our hands today. Many have given their lives so that Christ can be proclaimed. We owe a great debt of gratitude to those men and women who sacrificed their freedom, resources, and even their lives so that we could know Christ. Many today across our world are still in danger because they care more for the eternal souls of others than they do for their own safety.
We each need to be an Aristarchus for someone. We need to serve alongside them, picking up the slack, and carrying the burden. What does it take to deter you from pressing on for the cause of Christ? Aristarchus was committed to being a help to Paul and a witness for Christ. Fear of arrest or prison didn’t change his plans. Who can say of you that you are with them?
