We’re coming to the end of this A to Z Challenge. I pray that you have found some interesting, encouraging and spiritually uplifting words through the month of April. I will miss April!

We have made the rounds to the letter “u.” Umbrella. Understanding. Unchanging. Unfailing. Unwholesome. Unproductive. Unity. These were all contenders for my theme of the day, but they all fell short as I remembered some of Paul’s writings in 2 Corinthians. Today let’s talked about unnamed saints.

A while back, I read through the Epistles and I recalled how this passage from 2 Corinthians 8:18-19 (NIV) impacted me.

“And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help.”

Paul never mentions this servant of Christ by name. Apparently there was no need. This person was known among the churches for what he was doing and therefore needed no mention.

And then if that were not enough, Paul continues to describe the traveling troupe. “In addition, we are sending with them (Titus and the unnamed servant of Christ above) our brother who has often raved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you.” (2 Corinthians 8:21 – NIV)

A zealous brother in Christ would be stopping by as well. But again, this no-named servant was given great praise, but not specifically called by name.

These two men were well known. Perhaps these little clues were all that the Corinthians believers needed to know.

However, do you suppose there was discussion among the Corinthian church as to who these men might be? Surely there were more than just two who fit these descriptions.

The obvious might be Barnabas. He was known for his encouragement of others. He was a partner with the apostle Paul. He was also known for his travel. Maybe it was Barnabas.

Or maybe it was Paul’s friend and companion Luke. Luke traveled with Paul to gather information for the Book of Acts. Luke was present for many miraculous acts and numerous messages shared by Paul. Imagine the stories that could have been told by Luke (oh wait, we have a 28-chapter book with much of this information).

We know it wasn’t Titus, he is mentioned in this passage.

If we look back to Acts 20:4 (NIV), we read who were traveling with Paul to take the offering gathered from the churches to Judea. I would say these two men are mentioned in this list.

“He (Paul) was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychius and Trophimus from the province of Asia.”

These are virtually unknown men to us, but apparently they were great leaders of the early church. These were the men who made things happen in the first century. They loved Jesus. They served Him faithfully. They were generous. They were men of integrity. They were willing to go into harm’s way. They were leaders.

And these men were also humble. Humble enough that their names were not mentioned in the Corinthian letter.

What are you known for? When others speak of you, do they need to mention your name or are you known by your characteristics? Are you a person of integrity? Do you serve faithfully? Are you a generous giver? Are you humble?

I would love for my name to be missing from my tombstone and these words written instead. “She was praised by all the churches for her service to the gospel.” And when these words were read that they would know exactly who was buried there. This almost seems unimaginable.

But for these men of Paul’s day, it was possible. These men had offered their entire lives to god for His use. They had given themselves unselfishly to be used in God’s Kingdom. They had allowed God to work through them to do His will.

Perhaps we will never know who these unnamed saints were until we meet them face-to-face in heaven. These are just two more I’ll have to add to my list to visit with in eternity. I cannot wait!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna