Disappointing People

Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 4:9-10

2 Timothy chapter four carries a tone of lament. Paul is facing death. It isn’t the first time, but it is the first time he seems completely resigned to his fate. He realizes “the time of [his] departure has come” (4:6).

Christians often say things like “I don’t need anyone except the Lord.” While there is some truth to that, it isn’t the whole truth. In this life, the Lord most often comes to us through the presence of His people. Jesus said that on the day of judgment, he would say that people fed, clothed, and visited him. When those people ask, “When did we do those things?” Jesus will answer, “When you did it to the least of these, my brothers, you did it unto me.”

Jesus is served and serves through how we serve one another.

Therefore, while Paul languished in prison awaiting his fate, what he needed was Christ’s presence, comfort, encouragement, and strength mediated through his people. Now, Paul will go on to say later in chapter four that “the Lord stood by [him] and strengthened [him]. God is not bound by our failures and can meet the needs of his people apart from us. Nevertheless, ideally, the Lord’s will is we become the vessels of his presence in the lives of others.

And this is part of what makes 2 Timothy chapter four a song sung in a minor key.  Just when they were most needed, people were absent from Paul’s life.

At the top of that list was a man named Demas. We don’t know much about him. He was, at one time, considered a “fellow worker” of Paul (Philemon verse 24). He had been with Paul during extensive portions of his ministry (Colossians 4:14). He was with him during this imprisonment, at least initially.

The words Paul uses to describe Demas’ departure mean he had left Paul in the lurch. He left when he was most needed. Despite the wide influence and impact of Paul’s ministry, in those last days in Rome, only Luke and Demas were there. Then, Demas left.

We aren’t told the details of his departure. I wonder if he told Paul or Luke he was leaving. I suspect not. Although I can’t prove it, I imagine him slipping away in the dead of night with a bag of his clothes slung over his shoulder, Luke awakening in the morning and realizing he was gone, and being the one who comes and tells Paul. Paul puts two-and-two together and realizes the why’s of Demas’ departure.

“He was in love with this present world.”

Demas did some calculations and decided it was better to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season rather than to suffer affliction with the people of God.

Surely, this was a huge disappointment to Paul. But he wisely saw it for what it was. And it wasn’t all that complicated. Demas loved the world. There is a hint of sadness. Paul was sad for himself. He was almost alone. More than that, he was sad for Demas.

Pray for the Demas you know. And pray that by God’s grace, none of us would ever be found to be one of his tribe.