1 Timothy 1:15-18

You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.  May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me—may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

When things get hard, we need to be prepared for two different responses.  There will be those who disappoint and turn away from us and there will be those who surprise and draw near to us.  We don’t always know who those people will be.  However, the one thing of which we can always be sure is that the Lord will always be with us and sustain us through the most difficult trials and circumstances of life.  He will also provide the people needed to strengthen and sustain us.  That is how the Spirit of God and the Body of Christ functions.

THOSE WHO PRACTICE ABANDONMENT: Today we would consider any association with Paul to be a great honor.  However, when Paul was still alive and before his letters were recognized as being inspired by the Holy Spirit, he was not a safe association.  He had persecuted the Christians, he was seen as a traitor to the Jews, and was despised as a cult leader by the Romans.  His doctrine was a radical confrontation of both Judaism and Roman Paganism.  His teaching brought radical responses from the audience to the point that he was stoned, whipped, imprisoned, and now faced execution for his “crimes.”  All of this contributed to people abandoning him and wanting to be disassociated with him.  Phygelus and Hermogenes are mentioned by name, but they were not alone.  Timothy was in Asia and Paul makes it clear that all their coworkers from that region had abandoned him as well.  They didn’t turn away from Paul because they disagreed with his teaching.  They simply did not want to face the suffering that association with Paul would cause.  As our society turns further from the biblical standards association with Christ is going to be more dangerous and costly.  Our call is to remain faithful no matter what the Cost.

THOSE WHO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE: Onesiphorus was a strong contrast to the cowardice crowd.  Instead of turning from Paul, he sought him out and had no fear of being associated with Paul or the Christ that Paul preached.  He provided physical and spiritual refreshment to Paul during a difficult time.  He was another example of a follower of Christ who was not ashamed of the Gospel or of those who preached the Gospel.  Paul has been encouraging Timothy to be courageous and follow his example and now he points to another exemplary follower of Christ that is worthy of emulation.  It may be dangerous to follow Christ and be associated with those who proclaim the Gospel.  The results of doing so are eternal rewards.  Paul recognizes that the entire household of Onesiphorus had made sacrifices on his behalf.  When we are faithful to serve the Lord, there is a price to pay here on earth.  It requires that sacrifice of time, resources, and emotional bandwidth that impact our friends and our family.  We must strive to balance these responsibilities and certainly ministry is not an excuse for abandoning family.  At the same time, there is a price to pay.  That price is negligible in comparison with the recompense promised by the Lord to His faithful servants.  God calls us to a consistent life of service to the lost as well as to our brothers and sisters in Christ who are sacrificing to advance the Gospel.

APPLICATION: Don’t allow the cost of being associated with Christ and His ministers discourage us from obeying and serving Him faithfully.  Courageously proclaim the Gospel no matter what the cost.  Provide refreshment and encouragement to those who are serving the Lord.  Believe that any sacrifices we and our families might make now will be richly rewarded by the Lord.