Friendship

Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. 2nd Timothy 4:9-10

The verse from 2nd Timothy is short and does not at first glance seem to have much life changing information. However, when we know a little background information we will see how we face this same issue today in our lives. Paul is writing to Timothy from his prison cell in Rome and knows he will never freely live outside the walls of the prison. During his time in prison Demas had become a trusted friend who Paul could confide in and receive encouragement from while going through this trial. When Paul writes to Timothy in chapter 4 he is encouraging him to continue the fight and to continue in the work for the Lord. He also tells Timothy to, “Do your best to come to me quickly”. Paul knows his time on earth is very short and he hopes to see Timothy before he dies. I imagine he is alone in a dirty cell and is longing to see a trusted friend. He goes on to tell Timothy that Demas has deserted him because he loved this world. It was probably difficult to be friends with Paul during this time in Rome. I am sure Demas knew the persecution Paul would continue to receive until the time of his death for following Jesus. Maybe Demas knew, deep in his own heart, that he did not have the same faith as Paul. He could not be in Paul’s presence without feeling ashamed of himself. Earlier, being friends with Paul, was probably exciting because of the great things he would witness but, as the persecution became more severe, Demas was not truly committed to Paul, and more important, to Jesus. Paul could look to his future and see the reward he would receive for his suffering but Demas only saw the penalty for his beliefs. Paul knew he would be accepted into eternal life with his Heavenly Father but Demas only wanted human acceptance in his life on earth. Paul knew his life of suffering would soon end in a glorious triumph but Demas saw only defeat in a future of following Jesus. What would I have done if I was Demas? What would you have done? I hope and pray that we would all be like Paul. I am sure he was disappointed and probably thought about and prayed for Demas everyday until his death, but he did not let the loss of a friend change his mission. Paul never let the decision by Demas cause him to doubt his work for the Lord and he never allowed it to make him lose focus on who he was serving.

It is disappointing when a friend, who we believed would be faithful to us throughout our lives, suddenly decides it is not popular to be called our friend. Maybe we had spent many years sharing our beliefs together to find out they were only our beliefs and not our friends. When a person we have considered a friend suddenly no longer speaks, avoids interaction with us, or treats us like we are a stranger we feel a sense of loss. We may also even begin to question ourselves about what we may have done in the past to ruin a friendship. We also begin to doubt the value others may have placed on our friendship. Were they really our friend before or was it just for convenience until they found someone better? We do not know how Demas lived the remainder of his life. Did he regret that he deserted Paul? Did he ever think about Paul or did he erase him from his memory resigned to the belief that Paul was a radical? Did he live the rest of his life quietly for the Lord, obeying all the rules, but making little impact in the world? Or did he realize the opportunity he missed and devote the remainder of his days to living like Paul and for his Savior?

Thankfully we are also told in Proverbs that we always have a friend and He sticks closer than a brother. Even when we feel as though all the world has deserted us, we always have a friend by our side watching over us, protecting us, and loving us. Jesus will never desert us because He is our brother.

Chad