4. You can count on men like Stephanas, who lead their entire families to serve God and do it well. He is a genuine leader.
No one knows you better than your family. That’s why their also following Jesus Christ is a great testament to your own fidelity and example.
Paul said, “You know the household of Stephanas, that they were the firstfruits of Achaia”—that is, among the earliest converts in Greece—”and that they have devoted themselves for ministry to the saints” (I Corinthians 16:15). How good is that!
We wish we had more information on “the household of Stephanas”—who made up the family of this good man, what each one was doing, what the inner life of their home was like.
(We are sometimes frustrated by the general references in Scripture, wishing we had more details here and there, but we take consolation that the Lord has told us exactly what we need to know and not a sentence more.)
Paul adds, “I rejoice over the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus, and Achaicus, because they have supplied what was lacking on your part, and they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore, acknowledge such men” (Philippians 16:17-18).
Clearly, the family of Stephanas was doing what they had seen him doing day in and day out, year after year. We thank God for such a faithful husband and father who shows his family the way, then leads them in it.
I want Stephanas on my team. I want to be on his team.
And later, after they’re grown, we can look for his children to join us. The next generation will be even stronger than the first.
