Skip to main content

Onesiphorus


You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 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. (II Timothy 1:15-18) 

          This isn’t recorded in the book of Acts. There is no explanation of why everyone abandoned Paul or who Phygelius and Hermogenes were. From this passage, we know that Onesiphorus was a helpful friend who was there for Paul more than once. We all want friends like Onesiphorus, but people are human, and often are more like Paul’s everyone. Every now and again, someone posts something on social media asking if they called or showed up at midnight in tears and in trouble, would we help. The whole point is that if we don’t immediately say that we would drop everything and do everything, we are saying we’re bad friends.
        The truth of the matter for me is that if I heard the phone, if I got to it before it went to voicemail, and if I recognized at least the area code, I would answer (or recall) and help as I could but chances are good that I wouldn’t be much help. Chances are even better that a couple days would pass before I discovered the voice mail. You’d do better to message me on Face Book or to show up on my doorstep and knock for a while. 
          We all need an Onesiphorus in our lives and it’s nice to know which friend is that friend. We all hurt when we discover that our friends are more like Paul’s everyone. As important as that may be, it is more important to be an Onesiphorus. I know people who like to think they are an Onesiphorus to someone, even to everyone. This is an area where I tend to beat myself up. I can’t be there for everyone. I don’t have the money. Even if I did, there are only so many hours in a day. I’m not God. I can’t solve everyone’s problems, and I don’t have the wisdom I would need even if I had the power. There are people I would like to help, but then I look at Dad. 
          Scripture doesn’t say that Onesiphorus helped everyone. It says he helped Paul. Chances are good that his helping Paul meant that he couldn’t help someone else. Right now, I’m Onesiphorus to my father. I need to remind myself that it’s OK to not be able to be there for someone else the way I think I should. 
        Here’s one last thing about Onesiphorus. His care for Paul could have been embarrassing. He was visiting someone who was not liked by the government, a criminal. He may have been put on the watch list, might have been subjected to searches to make sure he wasn’t bringing in contraband. Paul’s Roman guards may not have been the most polite, considerate, or gentle sorts. 
          Part of what Onesiphorus did for Paul was to be there anyway, and do what needs to be done, no matter who disapproves.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more