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15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus. ~ 2 Timothy 1:15-18
Today's text begins with desertion. Everyone had abandoned the Apostle Paul for it was dangerous to be associated with him. This was a dark period for Paul. So dark that it was difficult to recognize what God was really doing. False doctrines were spreading throughout the church, and Paul would have loved to be free to defend the faith—but he was in a Roman prison.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:12-14 that his imprisonment happened to advance the gospel. He went on to write in Philippians 3:10, "I want to know Christ--yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death."
The Lord Jesus endured the desertion of God so that we would not. Everything that separated us from God was absorbed by the Lord Jesus on His cross so that we might know Him intimately in an increasing way. Pain and suffering is unavoidable in this fallen world, yet, there is a silver lining to this very dark cloud: that we might know Him and make Him known.
In this passage there are two groups of people: those who deserted Paul and those who helped him. The group we choose to identify with will impact our lives the most. In Hebrews 11 there is a group known for their faith in the God of the Bible. This is the group that we want to be associated with because it is much easier to pull someone down than it is to pull them up.
We read in v.16, "May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains."
But there was one man who dared to leave Ephesus and come to Rome to assist Paul, Onesiphorus whose name means “profit-bearing” or "bringer of help." He certainly lived up to his name and was a profitable friend to Paul. We most often live our lives according to what we are beholding at the moment. In fact, in 2 Corinthians 3:18 we read, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
God made us to receive and to give, and when we give, in some way, we are blessed. Those who live to only get are miserable. We must be careful to follow the example of Onesiphorus by daily looking for those to whom we can be a blessing in one way or another. It may be a simple smile or it may be a long trek from Ephesus to Rome.
There are two bodies of water in the nation of Israel: the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Both have in common an inlet. These bodies of water receive water everyday by way of the Jordan River. But what sets these two bodies of water apart is what makes them different. You see, one of them teams with all forms of life and the other is known for no life in it at all. The difference is only the Sea of Galilee gives. The Dead Sea only gets and it is the worse for it.
According to v.16, Paul prays that the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus because somewhere on his trip back to Ephesus, he somehow died. We do not know how he died and we are not given much about Onesiphorus but he certainly was a tremendous blessing as Paul faced his final days in prison.
In v.17 we read, "On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me."
Onesiphorus, painstakingly, and at great effort, sought and found the Apostle Paul. That was not easy to do because the Romans told no-one where Paul was imprisoned. But Onesiphorus kept looking until he found him. He found him at great risk to his own life, for, to befriend an enemy of Caesar in those days was to put one's own life in peril.
In v.18 we read, "May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus."
When someone is a blessing to us, our hearts well up for them. We find ourselves praying for them more. This was the case here for Paul toward Onesiphorus. Granted, we do not bless to be blessed, but the principle in nonetheless true. Let me encourage you today to ask God to give you the ability to see the needs around you. Then, look for practical ways to be a blessing to those whom He brings into your pathway.
We all have an orientation to life. Most often it is our pain that makes us most useful to others. God redeems our pain as He brings healing through us to those around us. God gives us opportunities to share the Scriptural truths that He has given us as lifelines. And God gives us the privilege of coming alongside people to believe for them and to pray for them. In this type of giving, we even find healing for ourselves.
