I’ve been thinking a lot about Demas.
See, few things in life and ministry are more painful than watching someone you love make poor, even devastating and destructive, choices.
Hindsight’s 20/20, so it’s easy to look back and think of all things you wish you’d done, all the ways you wished you’d intervened, all the ways you “saw it coming.” Thankfully, for every person with a pulse, there is more to his or her story. As long as we have breath, there is hope. Always hope. A good and faithful God who never leaves us or forsakes us, who sees us when no one else does, who seeks us and continually rescues us. He is our constant and eternal hope. We can never outrun His presence.
But for us, as believers, watching a loved one make poor choices can spur us on toward God in two distinct ways:
- We press in and pray more and more for this loved one, interceding on their behalf, because we know it is the will of God that none should perish but that all would come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9, 1 Tim. 2:4). We KNOW we are praying the will of God when we ask Him to bring lost sheep home, so we can rest in confidence that what we ask, in His name and His will, we have (John 14:12-14).
- Secondly, we are wise to note the point of departure and honestly reflect on our own lives, taking a sober-minded account of any ways our own hearts have made this same departure from pure faith in Jesus Christ.
And this is why I’ve been thinking of Demas.
Who? You know, Demas.
Well, probably you don’t know, because none of us name our kids Demas. We don’t study him, emulate him, or talk about him much. Why?
Because he departed.
Demas was one of Paul’s right-hand guys, one of his traveling companions and fellow-laborers. He’s mentioned in Philemon 23-24 and Colossians 4:14.
But then in the last brief mention of him, just 8 short words convey his sad end:
Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world… (2 Timothy 4:10)
Paul captures so much in this short sentence. He speaks to the personal pain he experienced over this loss. He conveys this “forsaken” feeling.
Paul also so succinctly speaks to the motive behind Demas’ departure: love for the world.
We know from 1 John that we are not to love the world or the things of the world because love for the world and love for God are mutually exclusive (1 John 2:15). The things of the world–pride, ego, lust, fame, wealth–will always keep us from pure devotion to God.
They are never not destructive.
If we EVER are tempted to believe that we can dabble in the world and maintain our devotion to God, we are fooled already. The point of departure’s already there. We are wise to recognize that the temptation toward the world will always be strong, and none of us is above its grip.
If we do sense that our love for the Lord has cooled, and other things have crept in, we are wise to ask ourselves some questions:
- Where was the point of departure? (When was I walking most closely with the Lord and enjoying His power and freedom? Where did the drift begin? Ask God to help pinpoint a time or season.)
- What led to this point of departure? (What was the cause? Were there events leading up? Any new relationships or habits coming or going from my life?)
- Why did I depart? (Why? What was my driving motive or desire? What was the hunger or need I went after? In what way did I love this present world?)
The point of this post isn’t to damper your summer fun *smile* but hopefully to remind us all that we are never out of Demas’ danger. The slow drift begins … slowly. Perhaps this summer could afford time for some sacred reflection on our souls and honest discussion with our Father, asking Him to keep us close, to keep the fire hot, to keep our gaze on Him, that no distraction or competing loves would snuff out our flame of faith.
{May we never depart. Thank you for reading.}